The War Between the Gods
by Hollystar122
Summary: When tensions rise between Zeus and Hades, our characters from Austin & Ally, A.N.T. Farm, Jessie, and PJO are caught in the middle. When the gods go to war, our favorite heroes must decide once and for all what matters more to them- the friends they've come to love, or the family they can never escape.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a huge crossover between Austin and Ally, A.N.T. Farm, Jessie, Dog With a Blog, and Percy Jackson. Because I never read Son of Neptune or The Blood of Olympus and only read about half of The House of Hades, I'm just going to act as if the Heroes of Olympus series never happened. I'll be using OC characters to replace Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel when needed. I'm sorry if any of the characters seem OOC, but it gets a bit hard to write such a massive crossover and keep all of the characters IC 100% of the time. Just a warning, if you aren't completely caught up with all of the featured series, I suggest avoiding this fanfiction until you are, since there are likely spoilers ahead.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally, A.N.T Farm, Jessie, Dog With a Blog, Percy Jackson, or anything else you recognize in here.**

**Larger summary for those interested:**

**Since the end of the Second Olympian War, Zeus and Hades have been at odds. Zeus refuses to grant many of the wishes of Hades, which leads Hades to believe that Zeus is no longer a fair and just leader, and that someone else needs to step up and take his place as King of Olympus. Tensions run high, and Zeus sends a request to Chiron in an attempt at finding a solution to his problems with the Lord of the Dead. Meanwhile, the casts of characters from each different fandom receive a separate notification that they have been invited to a special adults-free convention for teenagers that is attempting to find out what kind of entertainment products the teen demographic is most interested in. What they don't know is that the convention is actually an elaborate plan created by Chiron with the approval of Zeus himself. The convention will be filled with demigods acting as regular teenagers hunting for new demigods undercover. At least a couple hundred teenagers have been selected from each of the states based on physical and mental standards, with the group being assumed by Chiron to contain at least twenty or so demigods each. Our Disney characters end up at the convention, not knowing the true purpose of the gathering or that the products they are testing are actually Mist forms created by Chiron. The characters eventually meet up with the main cast of PJO, and they travel back to CHB. Back at Olympus, tensions have reached their peak between Zeus and Hades. The gods begin taking sides, and their children follow suit. Camp Half-Blood divides itself between those who support Zeus, those who support Hades, and those who support neither. Our characters find themselves caught in the middle of what could spark into a huge war- and they must decide where their loyalties lay before it's too late. **

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><p><strong>Percy POV<strong>

I crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it aside, groaning. This was my sixth attempt at starting my essay, and I still couldn't get past the "this summer I read Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven" part. I hadn't actually read The Raven, just seen the movie. Come on, you really thought I'd waste my time reading poetry? I'd rather clean the pegasus manure off of the stable floor fifty times over than read poetry. Scratch that, a hundred times over.

The only hard part now was writing the essay. Not only did I have to deal with my stupid dyslexia, but I had to be careful with how I wrote the essay. I had gotten caught many times before for leaving out crucial details or messing them up, which in turn lead my teachers to realize that I'd just written the essay based on the movie, not the book. Hey, it isn't my fault the stuff they tell us to read is so boring it'd make my dead grandpa fall asleep. Yeah, that makes sense. I think.

I was just beginning to write my name down for my seventh attempt when the conch horn blew. I looked up, confused. It was way too early for dinner, and we had to provide our own lunch here. That meant only one thing- Chiron had something really important to tell us, and was calling a camp-wide meeting at the amphitheater. I got up, a bit relieved I didn't have to sit here and continue racking my brain over a stupid bird in a stupid poem written by a stupid poet who died of rabies.

I searched for my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase, through the clusters of demigods heading for the amphitheater. My eyes scanned the Athena kids, but before I could check most of them, the Hermes kids moved in the way. I cursed and kept walking, hoping I would find her after the meeting to discuss whatever it was we had to discuss.

When I got to the amphitheater, I searched the front for Chiron. I found him standing at the podium, Argus and Mr. D on either side. Argus looked emotionless, while Mr. D looked about as excited as a sixteen year old finding out they got nothing but clothes for Christmas. Trust me, I've been there. I know what it's like.

"Attention, campers. Attention, please." Chiron spoke directly into the microphone, his voice coming out loud and clear over the speakers. The campers fell silent right away. If there's one person we all respect here, it's him. "I have spoken with Zeus, and it seems as if the duty of resolving the current Olympian conflicts falls to us. I have organized a large-scale operation to make up for the losses we suffered before and during the war against Kronos last summer. This operation will be disguised as an adults-free convention that will test a series of entertainment products geared toward teenagers to see what the teenage demographic is interested in today. A handful of you will be sent to this "convention" to hunt down new demigods and bring them back to camp for proper training. You will have one week to find these demigods. I am inviting at least two hundred people from each state, so I am expecting a large amount of new campers to return. The following demigods have been selected for this special quest..."

I got a little excited as he said that. I hoped Annabeth and I would be able to go to this convention-in-disguise. I paid extra attention as Chiron listed off the names, making note of the ones that I recognized.

"Travis and Connor Stoll, Clarisse La Rue, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase..."

_Yes! _I thought. I completely tuned out the rest of Chiron's list, not even caring. Annabeth and I were going to this convention together! It would be the perfect opportunity for us to save some heroes, kick some monster butt, and look good doing it.

Chiron finished by announcing that we would be leaving first thing tomorrow morning, so we should get our packing done today. I ran off as soon as Chiron dismissed us. I found Annabeth with the Athena kids and dragged her to the side.

"Isn't this great?" I said. "The chance to do something really important! This is the first quest we've gotten since the war!"

She smiled. "It's going to be great." She said. "We're going to get the chance to save lives. It'll feel good, especially since we lost so many in the war."

I nodded. "And we'll get to fight some monsters. I can't wait!"

She laughed and kissed me. "Don't get too excited, Seaweed Brain. You'll blow your brain up." She squeezed my hand and jogged away.

I watched her go, admiring her as she ran. She looked even more perfect when she ran- the way her blonde hair bounced in between her shoulder blades, her grey eyes sparkling with determination... Okay. I'm done.

I walked back to my own cabin and started getting ready. I was so excited my mind wandered off every few seconds, my ADHD kicking into overdrive. I went from picking out clothes to pacing in front of my window, and from that I ended up doing jumping jacks. Don't ask me why I did jumping jacks. I just did.

After a long time had passed, I finally managed to calm myself down. I got out my orange Camp Half-Blood backpack and started packing supplies. I packed enough clothes for a week, a knife, some water bottles, a flashlight, spare batteries, and a blanket.

"Alright." I said. "That should do it. Teenage convention, here I come!"

**TWO DAYS LATER**

**MIAMI, FLORIDA**

**AUSTIN POV**

"Peace out Miami!" I shouted, backing off of the stage. I had just finished performing Upside Down for the customers here at Shredder's. I had agreed to perform here at least once a month if it meant my friends and I could eat here for free. I hopped off of the platform and met my friends. I fist-bumped Dez and hugged Ally and Trish.

"How was it?" I asked.

"Well, the shrimp was a bit bland, but the salad was good. It would have been better with ketchup, but I brought the mayo instead, so-"

"Dez!" Trish interrupted. "Nobody cares!" She faced me, putting on a sweet smile. "Your performance was great, as usual."

"Yeah." Ally agreed. "Jimmy will have to sign you back onto his label soon, because the Austin train is leaving the station. Woot woo!" She made a train-whistle-pulling motion and looked at us expectantly. We just shook our heads.

"Hey." A man dressed in a mailman's uniform jogged up to us. "Austin Moon. I've been searching all day for you guys."

I pulled out my trademarked Austin Moon pen. Dez had invented it recently- whenever you clicked it, it played a segment from my breakout song, Double Take. "Who do I make it out to?"

He looked confused for a moment before he realized what I thought he was here for. "Oh, no." He said. "I've got deliveries for you all. Letters from some survey company out in California." He fished four letters out from his mail bag and passed them to us. "Enjoy. Oh, and nice performance, by the way. My daughter's a huge fan of you." He jogged away.

"Great." Trish grumbled. "Another stupid survey. I wonder what this one's about. Probably which nursing home has better bathrooms or something stupid like that."

My eyes widened. "Or maybe it's actually a secret message from an alien civilization asking us if we'd like to join up with them!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Austin." Ally said. "Aliens don't exist."

"So you say." I said. "But you also said that zebras exist, and we all know that's not true." I looked at Dez, and he nodded.

"Oh my god!" Trish exclaimed. We all looked at her, surprised to see that she actually opened the survey-thing. We usually just threw those things out when we got them. "What is it, Trish?" Ally asked.

"It's not actually a survey." She said.

"Aliens!" Dez cried. He made an achievement gesture. "I _knew _it!"

"Shut up, Dez." Trish said, rolling her eyes. "It's an invitation to an adults-free convention in California! We get to go and test out a bunch of entertainment stuff as sort of a test, so that companies like Apple and Nike know what kind of things teens are into these days!"

It only took the word "invitation" to get Dez, Ally and I tearing open our own letters. We each got the same invitation, which lead to a lot of fist-bumping, squealing, and hugging. This was the chance of a lifetime! The chance to go away for a week with no parental supervision and test out a bunch of stuff before it even got released! We could eat tons of pancakes, write a bunch of music, and maybe even meet some new friends.

"The letter says that our airline and hotel fees are all paid for, so all we have to do is show up with this letter and we're in!" Trish went on. She suddenly looked concerned.

"Is something wrong?" Ally asked.

Trish looked up from the letter. "It says here that the flight out of Miami leaves tomorrow at six in the morning."

"What's so bad about that?"

"My parents are gone for the night." Trish explained. "They won't be back until tomorrow afternoon, and if I don't leave on that flight at six, I can't go."

"So?" I said. "Just call them. They were fine with you coming with me on tour, so I'm sure they'll be fine with this."

Trish nodded, looking a bit more relieved. "Alright. I'll give them a call as soon as I get home."

"Great!" I said. "Team Austin, off to California! This is going to be the best week yet!"

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><p><strong>So what do you think of Chapter 1? I hope you guys enjoy the story so far. More coming soon!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Just like I promised, Chapter 2 is coming at you guys pretty quickly after Chapter 1. This chapter's mostly just going to be the characters from the other shows receiving their invitations, so it won't have a lot of action in it. Because of that, I decided to release Chapter 3 at the same time. Also, after some consideration, I decided not to put Dog With a Blog into this fanfiction. While doing some planning for this story, I realized that having four shows mashed together with PJO was going to be too hard to manage while keeping interest in the plot. So, I eliminated my least favorite of the four shows. Apologies to anyone who was looking forward to seeing Dog With a Blog in this story.**

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><p><strong>Chyna POV<strong>

"And that's it." I said, setting down my guitar. I had just finished singing my cover song of Sia's Chandelier for the students here at Z-Tech. I glanced shyly at my boyfriend, Hudson, whose approval I valued most. He nodded approvingly, and I smiled.

"Interesting factoid about Sia." Olive said, cutting off my thoughts about Hudson. "Sia's full name is actually Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, and she was born in Adelaide, South Australia. Interesting factoid about Australia-"

"Olive." I interrupted.

"What?" She said. "Everyone should know something about South Australia." She shook her head. "Kids these days. It's a shame that they'll never understand the importance of interesting factoids."

I smiled, shaking my head. "I just wish Fletcher could have been here. He was a big fan of Sia. He would have loved the cover."

Hudson put his arm around me. "I'm sure wherever he is, he's enjoying himself just as much."

I nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sure he's filled that museum with art by now."

I looked over at Olive and saw that she looked depressed. I remembered with a jolt that she and Fletcher had been forced to break up when Fletcher decided to stay in New York. I suddenly felt bad. "Oh, Olive. I'm sorry. I forgot."

She shook her head. "It's okay. He was your friend too. I don't expect you guys to go forever without mentioning his name. I just-" Her voice caught in her throat, and she looked away from us.

I pulled away from Hudson and went over to comfort her. "It's okay, Olive. You found another guy after Dixon, so-"

"Dixon!" She wailed, pressing her face into the pillow. "Dixie Cup!"

I glanced at Hudson, who mouthed the words "Your problem". I sighed and patted Olive's back. "It's okay, it's okay. There are plenty of other men in the sea."

"Are any of them as talented as Fletcher or as beautiful as Dixon?" She asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

"Well," I said. "I'm sure someone somewhere is."

"Are there any guys here that are even interested in me?"

I thought about that. The last time Olive had asked that question, I'd tried to get any of the boys here to admit that they liked Olive. All of them ran away. I had a feeling now wouldn't be any different. But I also didn't want to make Olive feel any worse about herself, so I said, "Sure, Olive. I'm sure somebody here likes you. Other than Angus, I mean."

"You hesitated!" She cried. "That means you're lying! Dr. Jenner's Official Guide On Identifying Liars said so! It was right there, on page 86!" She started crying harder. "86 was Fletcher's IQ!"

I tried looking for other things to say. "Well, I'm sure some other boy out there has an IQ of 86."

She didn't even hear me. She was too busy crying and blowing her nose. I felt so bad for her, but every time I tried to comfort her it just made things worse.

Thankfully, the arrival of Zoltan saved me from making the situation any worse. "Can I have your attention, please. I have a very special delivery for some of you."

Olive lifted her head. "Is it Fletcher?"

"No." Zoltan said. "It isn't my monthly copy of the Victoria's Secret magazine either." When Hudson and I gave him a weird look, he tried to cover himself up. "I have a lot of important women to shop for, you know. I don't spend all my time counting my beautiful green paper. 62 billion of them, to be exact." He patted his back pocket, which was where he kept all of his money. That would have looked a bit awkward to someone who had never met Zoltan before.

"The deliveries, Mr. Grundy?" Hudson asked.

"Oh, the deliveries." He said. "Right."

"Deliveries?" Lexi said, walking into the room at that moment in time . "My beauty magazine?"

"Uh, no." Zoltan said. "I have letters from a company in California for Lexi, Chyna, and Olive."

"A letter?" I said, standing up. I took mine from Zoltan and tore it open. I read through it, getting extremely excited as I did.

"It's an invite." I said. I read the exact wording of the letter aloud.

_"Dear Chyna Parks,_

_You have been carefully selected from the Californian teenage population to attend a special convention in San Francisco, California. The convention is for teenagers aged 12 to 18 only, and is completely adults free. You will be under camera surveillance and monitored by the SFPD at all times as a safety precaution should any unlawful events occur. The convention lasts for three days and will start on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2013. The convention will feature unreleased entertainment products from companies such as Apple and Nike. The purpose of the convention is to determine what kind of products the teen American demographic is most interested in today. _

_Your airline and hotel fees have been paid for in full. Your flight leaves the local airport at 6:00 A.M. on Tuesday, June 1st, 2013. To be eligible for entrance into the convention, you must provide this letter and a means of photographic identification. Photographic identification is only required on your first entrance into the convention. This letter is required to be presented to security officials each time you attempt to enter the convention. If leaving the convention for less than two hours, you may receive a leave stamp that will allow you to re-enter the convention without needing to show your letter. We hope to see you there._

_Best Wishes,_

_Mr. Christopher Chiron_

_San Francisco, California_"

"As much as I hate to let such promising, talented young individuals go on their own to some convention, I suppose I have no choice." Zoltan said with a sigh. "Just try not to break the bank, okay? I have enough expenses from that lab you broke a week ago." Shaking his head, he walked out into the Roomavator.

"This is so exciting, guys!" I cried. Hudson stepped back from where he had been looking at the letter over my shoulder. "I guess I wasn't one of the chosen people." He said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

I kissed him. "I'm sorry, Hudson. But we'll be back. It's not like San Francisco's that far away, anyway."

Olive lifted her head momentarily to say, "456.45 miles, to be exact."

"I bet there's going to be a bunch of hot models there." Lexi said dreamily. "After all, that _is _what 99% of teenage girls are into these days." She flung her hair behind her shoulder. "Of course, we all know I'm going to be the most beautiful girl there." She smirked and walked away.

Hudson put his arms around me. "Be careful, okay? Don't get lost or anything."

"If I do, my dad's right in town." I said. "I know my way around San Francisco, Hudson. Don't worry."

He nodded. "I know. Just promise me you'll be careful, okay?"

I nodded and gave him one final kiss. "I will be. I promise."

**THE SAME DAY**

**NEW YORK, NEW YORK**

**LUKE POV**

"Luke!" Emma screamed. "Give me my tablet back!"

I waved it in front of my face. "If you want it, come and get it!" I sprinted up the stairs and flew into my room, slamming the door behind me. I hid the tablet beneath a pile of clothes and jumped on my bed, flipping open to a random page in my comic book.

Emma stormed into my room about five seconds later. "Where is it?" She demanded. "I swear Luke, if you broke my tablet-"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, putting on my best innocent face. "Did the poor little Emma lose her tablet again?"

"Don't lie to me, Luke!" She said. "I saw you with my tablet. Now where is it!?"

"I'm not lying." I said. "I don't have your stupid tablet. Now get out of my room. You're polluting it with your nasty sister germs."

She started flinging my stuff around, screaming her head off about how she was going to throw me out a window if I so much as got a speck of dust on it. Of course, her screaming brought Jessie up into my room.

"What's going on?" She demanded. "This room is noisier than my pet bull on National Ride A Bull Day."

Emma spun around to face Jessie. "That jerk stole my tablet!" She pointed at me.

Jessie glared at me. "Luke." She said in her usual condescending tone.

I looked at her innocently. "What?" I said. "Do you _honestly _think I would do something like that, Jessie? You have such little faith in me."

She stepped into the room. "Give Emma's tablet back, or Kenny gets caged for a month."

I stared at her. "You wouldn't."

She walked closer to me. "Oh, I would."

I glared at Emma. "Fine." I sifted through my pile of clothes until I found the tablet. I tossed it at Emma, who just barely caught it. She held it by the edge. "Ugh, now I have to spend _forever _wiping it off! It'll smell like sweat forever. Thanks, Luke." She glared at me and walked out.

"You're welcome!" I called after her. I glanced slyly at Jessie. "So, Jessie, about this teenage convention I was invited to..."

"I already said no." Jessie said. "We don't even know what company set this whole "convention" up. I'm not sending you, Emma, and Ravi across the entire country for what's probably an elaborate plan to kidnap the Ross kids to earn themselves a lot of ransom money."

"Come on, Jessie." I pleaded. "I talked to some of my friends at school, and some of them said they got invitations too! Why would they have invitations if it was some kind of elaborate plan to kidnap the Ross kids?"

"Those kidnappers are very clever. I remember one time when I was about eight or nine at the annual Bull Riding Festival. I met these two guys, and-"

I interrupted her. "Your story sounds very interesting, Jessie, but I have more pressing matters to discuss." I fell to my knees. "Please let me go to the convention! I'll be super careful and won't talk to _any _adults I don't see at the convention. _Please?_" I begged.

She studied me for a few minutes. "Alright, fine." She said. "You win. But if I get a call from the SFPD saying that you guys got arrested, I'm not going to be happy. I also expect you to keep your promise not to talk to any adults other than the security guards at the convention. If I find out you broke that promise, Kenny gets caged for six months."

I nodded. "I won't let you down, Jessie. Thank you!"

She started toward the door. "Alright. I'm going to go and tell Emma and Ravi. You start getting packed. We leave for the airport at 4:00 tomorrow morning."

I gave a huge sigh of relief after she left. I was going to California! Without any adults! Sure, Emma and Ravi would have to be there, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. After all, I didn't _have _to spend every minute of the day with them. I smiled evilly as I thought of all of the pranks I would be able to pull on them in the hotel room. I grabbed my backpack and dumped out the school supplies. Wouldn't be needing those in California. I threw in some comic books, a few outfits, my tablet, headphones, my PS Vita, some games, and Kenny.

"Alright." I said, thinking of all of the great things I'd get to do at the convention. "Adults-free girl-filled convention here I come!"

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><p><strong>So like I said, just some more introduction stuff. Chapter 3 will start to see things pick up a little. I apologize if Hudson seemed extremely OOC here, but I never actually saw the series finale of A.N.T. Farm, so I didn't really have anything to go off of besides his page on the A.N.T. Farm wiki. Again, apologies to anyone who was looking forward to seeing Dog With a Blog on here.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Like I said, I'm releasing Chapter 3 at the same time as Chapter 2. This chapter should be a bit more engaging than Chapter 2. I just had to get all of the introductory stuff out of the way. So, without further ado, please enjoy. As usual, I don't own Austin and Ally, Jessie, A.N.T. Farm, Percy Jackson, or anything else you recognize in here.**

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><p><strong>Percy POV<strong>

I smoothed out the wrinkles in the table cloth, my ADHD making it extremely hard for me to sit here behind the Apple panel. Me and Annabeth had been assigned to the Apple panel, basically giving people information about the products we were "testing". We were supposed to be acting as if our parents were high-ranking Apple employees. Chiron had come up with a few interesting products for visitors to "test". The first was the iPhone X and X+, which were capable of creating a holographic display of the person you were talking to when using FaceTime, as well as locking itself up completely if the front camera did not recognize the face of the person using it as the face of the owner. The second was the tablet/laptop combo known as the Mac 3000. The thing itself did not come out looking like the official Google ones do. It looked like a laptop and a tablet had a baby, and that baby was given to a dragon as a chew toy.

The final product looked hauntingly close to the sweater my mom tried to give me for my sixteenth birthday last year. It was so ugly it would have made the local knitting club cry. It was supposed to be this new attempt at getting teenagers to enjoy getting sweaters for Christmas. Basically, it had a built-in screen on the sleeve that allowed you to set different features on the sweater, like "Apply Deodorant" and "Start Heating". It was a cool idea, but Chiron could have at least tried to make it less vomit-inducing.

Annabeth had run off after a lead she supposedly had. She'd seen this kid talking to another kid about seeing what sounded like a hellhound one day during cross country practice. He had left the Apple panel after a while, and Annabeth had followed him, hoping that he was a demigod. It was cool that she got a lead, but it sucked that I had to sit here alone.

I was literally having to hold onto the seat to keep myself still when a group of four teenagers came up to the Apple panel. My eyes widened as I recognized them immediately. They were Team Austin- the world famous group responsible for some of the best selling teen pop singles out there right now. I stayed quiet, hoping not to draw attention to myself. I didn't want to answer a bunch of questions. It took all I had to keep from talking, though. I didn't show it much, but I loved music. I admired Austin and Ally for their talent and popularity, Trish for her fierceness and managing skills, and Dez for his directing abilities.

I tensed when Dez picked up the iPhone X and walked up to me. He was wearing very Dez-like clothes, sporting purple jeans, a leopard pattern shirt, and Reebok sneakers. He stood at the table for a few moments before asking,

"Do you have this in a leopard pattern?"

The question was so random I burst out laughing. I know, I know, it was rude, but seriously? Since when do iPhones come in leopard pattern? Even iPods don't come in a leopard pattern. Or any pattern, for that matter. When I finally came down from my fit of laughter, I answered,

"No, but you might be able to buy a leopard pattern case when the phone comes out."

At that moment, Austin walked over with the sweater. He looked at me quizzically. "Um, wouldn't this be better as like a tee shirt or something?"

"It's supposed to make getting a sweater more exciting." I explained for about the billionth time today. Not even exaggerating. I was really close to recording that line just for future use.

"Oh, come on Austin." Ally said, taking the sweater from him. "I think the sweater's perfect. It really is a shame that kids don't understand the importance of sweaters. They keep you warm, remind you of the winter days when you were close to your family..."

"Interesting factoid about sweaters. Present-day ice hockey uniforms are usually referred to as sweaters, when they actually more closely resemble the jerseys worn in other sports."

Everyone whirled around to look at a blonde girl that had come up to the Apple panel. I did a double-take when I realized that she was wearing a sweater with a picture of a knitting grandmother knitted into it. What would that be called? A knitception?

"I'm Olive Doyle." She explained. "I have an eidetic memory, so everything I've ever seen, heard, or read is permanently etched into my brain."

"Really?" Ally said. "That's _so _cool!"

"It's also kind of suspicious." A familiar voice murmured in my ear. I almost jumped a mile. "Annabeth!" I hissed. "Don't _do _that!"

She grinned. "You've always been easy to sneak up on, Seaweed Brain."

"I was distracted!"

"Yeah, yeah." She pulled me out of my chair and behind the curtain that separated the panel from the storage. "Listen." She said. "I lost the kid from before when I got caught in a crowd of people waiting to get fast food."

"What's so secretive about that?"

"Nothing." She said. "But studies from multiple psychologists and cognitive experts state that a photographic memory like Olive's is impossible for a mortal to possess."

"So you think she's a half-blood?"

"I don't know." She admitted. "But probably."

Suddenly, Dez's head appeared around the curtain. "What are you- woah, this place is huge!" He gazed admiringly at the security systems, digital supply lists, and monitors.

"Get out of here!" Annabeth said. She grabbed the closest thing she could find - a Kleenex box - and threw it at him. He yelped and ducked away.

"Was that necessary?" I asked.

"He shouldn't have been back here." She answered hotly. "He could have heard our secret. The last thing we need is to blow our secret to a mortal wearing a leopard shirt."

My response was cut off by a loud crash and screams of terror outside.

"What the hell?" I said. Annabeth and I ran out from behind the curtain and were greeted by a massive Laistrygonian giant. He swung his club, knocking down a bunch of security cameras. Someone screamed something about a terrorist attacking with a crane. I guess they were mortal.

Austin and his friends were backed up against the table. "What is that?" Austin demanded.

"Looks a lot like a giant to me!" Ally answered him.

"Giant!" Austin screamed.

"He looks like Trish on Monday!" Dez screamed. "It's so horrible!" He sank to the floor, head in between his knees.

"When this is over Dez, I'm going to personally shove your head up an old man's butt!" Trish yelled. They all screamed as the giant swung his club again, causing more security cameras and monitor screens to crash to the floor.

"I smell demigods!" The giant roared. "Giant hungry!"

Annabeth and I kicked into action. I uncapped Riptide, while she pulled out her dagger. We fell into our usual routine, myself distracting the giant while Annabeth snuck around the back. It was hard to get the giant's attention with all of these people running around screaming, but I did my best.

"Hey, ugly jackass!" I screamed. "You make The World's Ugliest Man rolled over by a steamroller look like a super model!"

I started dancing circles around him, screaming more insults. "The President just called. He wants to know how someone managed to crap something out that big and ugly! Oh wait- that's offensive to crap!"

I was starting to get the giant's attention. I continued with the insults.

"You're so ugly they're creating an Ugly Pageant just for you!"

The giant roared in anger. It swung the club at me. I ducked and rolled to the side, spitting more insults at it.

"Demigod feast!" It screamed. "Come to me!"

It swung the club at me again. I dodged once more. _Anytime now, Annabeth._

Almost as if she could read my thoughts, Annabeth appeared from the crowd behind the giant. She drove her dagger into the giant's ass with a yell. The giant screamed and began to disintegrate, turning into a cloud of yellow dust. A perfect ending for such an ugly creature.

The crowd slowly began to calm down as they realized that the giant was gone.

I was just about to cap Riptide when an eerie howl silenced everyone. I whirled around just in time to see an entire pack of hellhounds descend on everybody. Annabeth put on her magic Yankees cap and disappeared. I raised my sword, prepared to fight. I was about to charge the pack when someone grabbed my shirt collar and hauled me under a nearby table.

I struggled in their grip. "Let me go!" I spat.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth shimmered into existence beside me. "We need to get to Team Austin and Olive. They're all demigods- I'm sure of it. Once we reach them, we need to get out of here!"

"Are you kidding me?" I said. "There must be a dozen hellhounds out there! We can't just leave them to tear apart any demigod they find!"

"We have no choice!" She argued. "We have to get these demigods out of here before they get ripped to pieces! It's our duty!"

I shook my head. "My duty is to protect everyone here, not just five people." I started out from under the table.

Annabeth grabbed my arm. "Percy, no. That's suicide."

I shook her off. "I'm doing this whether you want me to or not."

I crawled out from under the table. Some other demigods from camp were trying to fight the hellhounds, but there were just too many of them, and too many people running everywhere. I looked for where I was needed most.

I spotted a boy with jet black curly hair and freckles pinned beneath one of the dogs. He tried to hold it back with an arm, but it was a losing fight. A blonde girl stood frozen nearby, screaming the boy's name in terror. Luke was his name.

I raised Riptide and charged the hellhound with a yell. The hellhound looked up at me sharply and snarled. It could sense that I was a powerful demigod- a son of Poseidon. It licked it's lips hungrily and howled.

I brought my sword crashing toward the thing with a yell. The hellhound sprang at me. Massive paws slammed against my chest, throwing off my accuracy. My blow missed, and the impact of being slammed against the floor sent my sword flying out of my hand. I struggled against the dog, my hands around the black creature's throat in an attempt to keep those snapping jaws away from me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girl helping Luke to his feet. "Get to the Apple panel!" I ordered them. Thankfully, the girl realized that I was talking to her. She grabbed Luke by the arm and dragged him away.

I continued to struggle against the hound. This thing was about average size for a hellhound- the same as a rhinoceros. I'd fought them before, but never had I been pinned under one like this with no weapon to help me.

And then, all of a sudden, a sword sprouted from the hellhound's head. It's red eyes widened in surprise. It disintegrated almost immediately. The sword fell against my chest. Upon inspection, I realized that it was Riptide.

The boy who had saved me stood about a foot away from me, eyes wide with shock. "Did that thing just disappear?"

I struggled to my feet, my chest aching from the weight of the hound. "Yeah, it did." I extended my hand. "Percy Jackson."

He shook it. "Ravi Ross."

"Ross?" I echoed. "You mean, as in Morgan and Christina Ross?"

He nodded. "Yes. They are my adopted parents."

"Cool." I said. "Where were you adopted from?"

"India." He said. "I- look out!" He screamed.

I turned just in time to get slammed yet again by another hellhound. This one managed to sink it's gnarly teeth into my shoulder. I roared in pain and fury, trying to position my sword so I could sink it into the black furry mass's side. I punched it in the side of the head, but it didn't do anything except make it angrier. It snarled, drooling all over me. But it wasn't the friendly drool that Mrs. O'Leary covered me with- this was a nastier, hungrier drool. Kind of like what I probably drool when I'm having a nightmare.

"Ravi!" I called to the Indian kid. "Take this and stab the thing like you did before!" I indicated with my head that he should grab my sword. Thankfully, this kid kept a level head in a bad situation. He took my sword from me and drove it into the hellhound's side. The thing let go of my shoulder and howled, eyes glowing brightly as it disintegrated and was swept away to reform in Tartarus.

Blood was flowing heavily from my shoulder as I struggled to my feet. I took my sword back from Ravi, who was staring at me in absolute horror, completely speechless.

I fished an ambrosia square out of my pocket. It was extremely fortunate I'd had the foresight this morning to put it in my pocket. Okay, okay. It wasn't me, it was Annabeth. Close enough.

I broke the square in half and popped one half in my mouth. The taste of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies filled my mouth, and I smiled a bit.

"What is that?" Ravi asked. "Some kind of treat?"

"Medicine." I explained. "It's sort of a home remedy."

"Oh." He said. "We had a lot of those in India. Are you familiar with Indian culture?"

"No." I said. "Sorry, kid."

He looked a bit disappointed. "Oh. No worries. It's fine."

I grabbed his arm and started leading him back toward the Apple panel. Surprisingly, he didn't protest. I guess I must be a pretty trustworthy looking guy.

Annabeth hugged me tight when we got there safely, while Luke and the girl embraced Ravi in a tight hug. I guess they must all be siblings.

Annabeth noticed the blood on my shoulder. "What happened?" She demanded.

"Hellhound took a bite out of my shoulder. I took some ambrosia already."

She smirked. "See? I told you you'd need that, Percy."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You were right again, Wise Girl."

She hugged me again. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Um, excuse me?" A new girl interrupted. This girl had a dark complexion, and looked familiar. I could have sworn I'd seen her on that talent show, America Needs Talent, a while back. "I don't mean to interrupt your little, uh, reunion, but would you mind explaining what's goin' on?"

Annabeth and I pulled apart. "Of course." Annabeth said. We stepped back so we could look at all of these people as a group. "Did every single one of you just see those creatures for what they were?"

"A giant and a bunch of black dogs." Trish said.

Annabeth and I exchanged a look. I nodded, mouthing _yes_ to her.

She turned back to the group, taking a deep breath.

"I think the nine of you are demigods. The sons and daughters of the Greek gods."

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><p><strong>So like I said, Chapter 3 was a bit more exciting. For any of you who are wondering what became of Lexi, don't worry. I'll throw her in there eventually, but in a different way at a different time. I'm really into this story right now, so I plan on releasing much more very soon! If there are any Austin and Ally, Jessie, or A.N.T. Farm side characters (such as Cassidy or Gibson) who you would like to see, let me know! Don't forget to F&amp;R it helps me out a lot! Stay tuned for more updates!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Like I said, more coming at you guys pretty fast. I'm hoping to get as far as I can into this story before my break ends and school keeps me too busy to write on a frequent basis. If you guys enjoy this chapter, leave a review and let me know that I'm doing a good job. Or if you didn't enjoy it, let me know what I can change to make it better. No flame reviews, please. **

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><p><strong>Ally POV<strong>

Everyone was completely silent. Had Annabeth just called us demigods? I'd always gotten an A in Social Studies, so I knew that a demigod was the child of a mortal and a god. A Greek god, specifically. And now Annabeth was coming here claiming that the gods were real and that we were their children?

The silence was eventually broken by Chyna. "_What _did you just call us?"

Annabeth smiled gently. "Do you all know of the creatures of Greek mythology?"

"Of course." Olive said. "Like the Minotaur and Hercules."

"Well." Annabeth said. "They're all real. All of them. And we have reason to believe that, because you could see those monsters for what they were, you are demigods. Demigods are offspring of a mortal and a god."

"I can't believe that." Olive said. "The existence of demigods is simply impractical. Many theological studies in the past have proven that the occurrences in Greek myths are impossible and could never possibly happen in real life. The Greek gods don't exist. They never did, and never will."

"The mortal theologists that studied the Greek myths were blinded by the Mist, a magical force that serves as a veil to keep mortals from seeing what their brains could not comprehend. Because demigods have godly blood, they are able to see through most forms of the Mist." Annabeth explained.

"When that giant was here, a mortal claimed that the giant was actually a terrorist attacking the convention in a crane." Percy added. "I know he was mortal because he was being fooled by the Mist."

I exchanged an uncertain glance with Austin. Beside me, Trish spoke up.

"I-I heard it too. The man claiming that the giant was a crane."

We all looked at her. Then that meant...

"You're not lying." Chyna said softly. "We are demigods."

Everyone was silent after that, except for Annabeth.

"It's a hard thing to take in." She sympathized. "It's a big thing to understand, and many often have a lot of questions. We have a special training camp that we go to in New York. It's called Camp Half-Blood. It's the only safehaven in the world for demigods like us. We're going to take you there."

"Wait." Emma said. "We live in New York. How come we've never seen this camp before?"

"The camp is covered with a thick layer of very powerful Mist." Annabeth explained. "Even if you are a demigod, you won't be able to see it until you know you're actually a demigod. It's for security reasons." She paused for a moment. "I suppose I should also tell you that this entire convention was all a big setup so we could get more demigods for our camp."

"Aw, man." Austin groaned. "I _knew _it was too good to be true. Just like zebras."

Percy gave him a weird look. "Huh?"

"He doesn't believe in zebras." I explained.

"Uh, yeah, Ally, because they don't exist." Dez said very matter-of-factly.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look. I bet they thought we really were weirdos now. Great. We ruined our chance of them ever thinking we were just your everyday teenage popstars.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "We need to get going. We'll take you guys down to the airport. We can only afford a flight into Cleveland, so we'll have to drive from there."

Luke Ross jumped at the chance right away. "I don't know about you guys, but a camp full of demigods means there'll be some hot lookin' ladies there."

"A womanizer." Annabeth observed. "How nice." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

One glance at the rest of my group told me what our answer would be. "Team Austin's in." I said.

"We're in too." Olive said. "I want to see for myself what this "camp" looks like. Sounds rather sketchy to me."

"Alright, then." Percy said. "Let's go."

**LATER THAT DAY**

**IN THE CAR**

I don't really know how we did it, but we all managed to squeeze in one van. I ended up way in the back in between Dez and Ravi. They were discussing some weird T.V. show over my head. Percy and Annabeth were in the front, Trish, Emma, and Luke behind them, and then Chyna, Olive, and Austin were in front of us.

Feeling completely left out of this conversation, I was left alone with my thoughts. I thought about how this day had taken a turn for the weird. There I was, commenting on the importance of sweaters when some giant decided to bust in and change my life forever. I thought being an international popstar was hard enough. Now I was facing the challenge of becoming a hero like Jason and Hercules in the myths.

Speaking of the myths, the thought that they were all real scared me. When I was little, my dad had told me stories of monsters hiding under my bed, waiting to grab me if I tried to get up before I was supposed to. The thought that those monsters were real scared the living daylights out of me.

I started to get mad as I thought more and more about my status as a Greek demigod. One of my parents, either my mom or my dad, lied to me about the other being my parent. I know it was probably just to protect me, but it still made me so mad. How could they do that to me? I could have gone to camp so much sooner, escaped my fear of having to conquer my stage fright. I could have accomplished so many heroic deeds by now. But nooo, they just _had _to lie and claim I was completely mortal. God.

About halfway through the car ride Dez fell asleep. He started snoring extremely loudly. I just had to laugh at that. Poor Dez. Unable to think clearly over the snoring, I started conversing with Ravi.

"So Austin told me you were adopted from India." I started.

He nodded. "Yes. When I was adopted, I brought with me my pet lizard, Mrs. Kipling."

"A pet lizard." I echoed. "A bit strange, but I won't criticize."

He shrugged. "There is a lady in our apartment complex who does not approve of Mrs. Kipling taking up residence in our household, but we have managed to settle our differences for the most part."

I nodded. "So what do you think of this whole thing?"

"It is a bit strange." He admitted. "But I find the whole idea fascinating."

"You know what else is fascinating." I jumped at Austin's voice. I hadn't realized he was listening to our conversation. "The news crews always called us the legendary duo, Austin and Ally. We're demigods, which means that we have a place in all those legends and myths." He grinned. "We were legends before being a legend was even cool! Isn't that awesome?"

I smiled. "Yeah, it is."

Austin's expression suddenly turned serious. "I wonder who our godly parents will be. And how will we find out? I mean, I always like to give my parents cards on their birthdays, but I kinda can't do that if I don't know who they are."

"They're gods, Austin." I reminded him. "They probably have their own special way of claiming their children."

Austin looked at me amusingly. "I thought the all-knowing Ally Dawson would know for sure how we'd find out who our parents are."

I rolled my eyes. "Very funny, Austin Monica Moon."

Olive burst out laughing at that. She pointed a finger at Austin. "Your middle name's _Monica_?"

Austin glared at me. "Yeah, it is." He put on his tough guy persona. "You got a problem with that?"

Olive was laughing so hard she was starting to cry. "Monica! What a kicker!"

On the opposite side of Austin, Chyna glared pointedly at her friend. "Leave him alone, Olive. He can't help what his parents name him."

"That's right." Austin agreed, although he was about as red as a cherry tomato. Suddenly, he looked as if something had suddenly dawned on him.

"Ally, I recall you promising me pancakes a few days ago."

I looked at him. "You can't seriously still want those."

His jaw dropped. "Are you _kidding _me? Of _course _I still want those pancakes! You must not know me at all, Ally Dawson, if you ever thought I'd give up pancakes for anything."

I grinned mischievously. "Of course I know that, Austin. I was just testing you."

"Oh." He looked satisfied. "Well, in that case, make sure they're extra fluffy. And go heavy on the chocolate chips. Oh, and if you could spell out my name in frosting, that'd be _so cool_. Maybe you could put like "The Legendary Austin Moon" or something, yeah?" His eyes got so wide I thought they might pop out of his head. "Oh, oh, oh! You could like cut the pancakes into A shapes! Ya know, for Austin? Aw man, this is gonna be even better than when my parents forgot me and their wallet at IHOP!"

I stared at him. "Your parents forgot you at IHOP?"

He nodded. "It was like, the best day ever."

All of a sudden, a commotion started up in the front.

"Luke! For the last time, stop taking my stuff! You're such a little kid!"

"Me? You're the one who's a baby! All you do is whine when I take your stuff! You never even try to defend it. You're gonna get kidnapped someday. I can hardly believe _you're _a _demigod._ Why don't you just leave all the heroic stuff to me, huh?"

"Luke, I'd never trust you to keep me safe, even if you were the last person _alive_. I'd rather get buried alive than have to rely on you for protection."

"Hey!" Trish shouted. "I hate to be the bad guy here, but I'm _trying _to listen to some Five Finger Death Punch. So shut _up_, both of you!"

"I'm not the one causing the problems here!" Emma protested. "Luke's being a nasty little twerp and stealing my stuff!"

"I said shut up!" Trish yelled. "Or I'll use this duct tape here and _make _you shut up!"

Everyone in the van was quiet after that. I looked past Dez and out the window. City lights flew by in a blur of yellow and white. Cars sped by, spotlights flashed in the distance, and some gang was busying themselves spraying graffiti all over the outside of a McDonald's.

"I never understood the point of graffiti." Ravi commented. "Why bother wasting your time painting a wall when there are so many other things you can unleash your artistic talent on? Like this seat, for example."

I looked at where he was looking. Someone had carved the word "SUPERMAN" into the back of Chyna's seat. Someone else had splattered the word "DIE" above "SUPERMAN" in red paint.

"Huh." Austin said. "A creative use of red paint. It should say Wonder Woman though, not Superman. Hate that lady."

"Wonder Woman is a creative use of Spandex." Ravi commented. His comment caused Austin to launch into a detailed explanation of why Wonder Woman was the worst female superhero of them all.

I plugged my earbuds into my iPod and cranked up the first song on my playlist, effectively tuning them out. Fireball by Pitbull. Strange, because I never remember putting that song on there. Whatever. Austin probably put it on there when I let him borrow my iPod a few weeks ago.

After Fireball finished, the playlist took an unexpected turn by launching straight into some classical music. The soft violin and piano combination made my eyelids grow heavy. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

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><p><em>The man stood tall and proud in a field of wheat. He was scarred and worn, but still handsome. The slightest hint of a black beard contrasted his pale skin. His eyes, brown and tired, were set deep in his skull. His messy brown hair was pushed carelessly to the side. <em>

_The man drew his weapon of choice, a sleek black sword made of the finest Stygian iron. A gift from his father, the Lord of the Underworld. The blade gave off an eerie purple glow that reminded the man of the soft glow of the nightlight that had lit his childhood bedroom. The blade was sharp and wicked, forged from one of the deadliest metals known to anyone, man or beast. The metal was unique in that it could hurt both mortal man and divine god. _

_"Daddy!" A little girl's cry caught the man's attention. He looked up as a young girl, no older than six or seven, ran toward him. She was dressed in a cloak of deep purple, woven from what the man knew to be the finest threads of the Underworld. The cloak obscured all but the girl's face, which looked nothing like the man's. Her skin was tanner, her eyes brown, but lively and innocent. Her nose was pointed, and her eyebrows were the bushiest the man had ever seen. When she smiled, she displayed the whitest teeth he had seen since he was a boy- crooked, but perfect all the same._

_He sheathed his sword as she embraced him in a hug, burying her face in his black, dust-covered shirt. "I've missed you, Daddy!" She cried, her voice shrill like that of any child's. "Are you coming home now?"_

_The man's voice near caught in his throat as he uttered the Zeus forsaken lie. "Soon, my darling. Soon."_

_Her hands clutched tightly to his shirt. "Please come home soon, Daddy! Nothing's the same without you!"_

_He patted her back. "I'll try my best, sweetheart. When I get home, I'll give you those piano lessons you've been asking for. Does that sound good?"_

_"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Oh yes, Daddy, it does!" _

_His lips curled upward in the faintest hints of a smile. "You'll be a star someday, my little girl. You will make it into the school of your dreams. You still want to go to NYU, right? Or have you changed your mind?"_

_"No!" She cried. "It's still my dream! Oh Daddy, make it come true! Please!"_

_He shook his head. "Only you can make your dreams come true, little one. I will come home soon. I promise. But now you must wake up. Wake up, Ally. Wake up..._

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><p>I sat bolt upright in the chair. Now <em>that <em>was a weird dream. Had that little girl really been me? And she'd called the man daddy... Did that mean the man was Lester? Or was he my real father, my godly one? He certainly didn't look like a god. But he had that sword...

"Ally?" Austin's voice broke through my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I said. "Why?"

He blinked. "You were staring at the floor, and you had this weird look on your face."

"Oh." I said, a bit embarrassed. "Well, I'm fine. Just a bit disoriented, I guess."

Ravi looked up from his book. "Annabeth said that we are in New York City now. We should be arriving at camp soon."

I nodded. "Oh. Well, that's good."

Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise. I went to check the time on my iPod, only to realize that it was dead. I mentally slapped myself when I realized that I had forgotten my charger.

All of a sudden, Annabeth, who was now driving, applied the brakes. Having taken my seat belt off a while ago, I lurched forward, my head banging against the back of Austin's seat.

The feeling was enough to wake Dez, who up until this point had slept the entire way. He looked around frantically. "Is something wrong? Is the government after us?"

"No." Ravi said. "We have arrived at camp."

I looked out his window and saw that he was right. A large sign stood atop a tall hill that read _Camp Half-Blood: Keeping Young Heroes Safe (Mostly) For Over Three __Millennia_.

"We're here!" Dez cried. "Sweet!" He opened the back van door and jumped out, almost forgetting to grab his backpack on the way.

I was about to get up when someone stepped on me- Olive. "Sorry." She said, using me as a launch pad to get out of the van. Chyna, who was merely shaking her head at her friend, jumped out next. Ravi left soon after.

I was about to get out of the van when I noticed that Austin hadn't moved yet. In fact, he looked more concerned than excited. I picked my way over the numerous bags and supplies in the van to the row of seats where he was.

I sat down in Olive's old seat. "What's wrong?"

He continued staring at his knees. "This place is real." He murmured. "I can't believe it. I thought it was just going to end up being some sort of attempt at getting the Ross kids and Team Austin into a mass-scale paparazzi shoot. I was wrong."

"It's a shock for all of us." I said. "But we'll get adjusted. Just think- soon you'll get to find out who your real parents are!"

He looked up at me, his eyes reflecting sorrow for the first time since Jimmy dropped him from his label. "That's it." He whispered. "For seventeen years I thought Mimi and Mike Moon were my parents. Now, to find out that one of them isn't, that they lied to me and to each other for all these years..." He shook his head. "It's just so hard to handle. I really thought they were the two people I could trust to always be honest with me about everything."

I rested my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure they had their reasons, Austin. They probably did it to protect you."

He shook me off. "I don't think so, Ally. You don't know my parents like I do." He pushed past me and got off of the van.

I stared after him. What just happened? My boyfriend never got mad at me like that, not ever. This whole thing must be bothering him more than I realized.

Annabeth suddenly appeared. "Is everything okay in here?"

I stood up. "Yeah. Sorry. Austin was just having some concerns about his godly parent, so I was trying to comfort him."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Don't take this offensively, but you might want to steer clear of him for a little while. I've seen this kind of thing before- someone finds out their parents lied to them for their entire life, and they take it so hard they push everyone away. He'll get better. But trying to comfort him will just make him feel weaker- worse about himself."

I was going to object, but I realized that she was right. "Yeah, I see what you're saying."

She nodded. "Come on, then. We're all waiting for you."

I grabbed my duffel bag and hopped off of the van, shoving my iPod in my back pocket. Everyone was gathered at the base of the hill. Annabeth and I jogged over to them.

Trish pulled me aside once I reached them. "Is everything okay? We saw Austin storm out of the van, and when we tried to ask him what happened, he told us to leave him alone. What happened in there?"

"I tried comforting him about this whole thing, and he got mad about it." I explained. "Annabeth suggested leaving him alone for a few days, until he gets used to this whole thing. She's seen it happen before."

The Latino nodded. "Sounds good. Come on, let's go back to the others."

Once we had returned, we all started walking up the hill. I stole a glance at Austin as we walked, noticing that he was deliberately avoiding looking at anyone. I felt a sudden flash of anger at him. _Go ahead and feel sorry for yourself. You aren't the only one suffering. _I blinked, surprised by that thought. _What was that, Ally?_

All of my anger and surprise was forgotten when we reached the top of that hill.

The camp before us was nothing like what I had been expecting. Mile after mile of rolling hill, dense woodland, grassy field, and the like. Long Island Sound glittered beautifully way off in the distance, accompanied by a large lake nearby. Cabins, an open-air pavilion, sand pits, basketball courts, an archery range, an arena and an amphitheater sat spread across the camp. People in orange shirts were playing volleyball, tanning on the beach, sparring in the arena, and doing so many other awesome looking things. Horses- no, _pegasi - _frolicked in the pastures. Massive strawberry fields were being tended to in the far distance. A large blue multi-story house sat atop a large hill, facing Long Island Sound. This was one epic summer camp.

"Guys," Percy said, "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed that chapter. So do you guys think Austin will get over his anger? How do you think all of the other characters will handle being assimilated into camp culture? More coming soon! Please R&amp;F! <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Here comes Chapter 5! Thanks to everyone so far who has read and reviewed my story. It means so much to me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally, Jessie, A.N.T. Farm, Percy Jackson, or anything else you recognize in here.**

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><p><strong>Austin POV<strong>

Despite the lingering anger I felt toward my parents and the overwhelming guilt I had over yelling at Ally, I couldn't help but feel awed by this camp. It was like someone had given me the world's biggest pancake for my birthday and had cut it in the shape of an A.

"Woah." I breathed. "It's amazing."

I felt someone's fingers lace with mine. I tensed as Ally stepped up beside me. I wanted to push her away, wanted to re-establish my tough guy persona. Austin Monica Moon didn't need his girlfriend to cope with this. But another, stronger part of my brain kept me there, wanting her to be here for me in what was probably the worst time of my life.

Percy and Annabeth stepped ahead of us. "Follow us." Percy said. They started jogging down the hill.

Only then did Ally break away from me, and I felt a bit disappointed. Sighing, I jogged after them, hoping I would get some alone time with her later.

We all headed over to the big blue house I'd seen before. I stopped dead in my tracks when we got up to the porch and I saw a man-horse standing there. I had to do a double take (heh, Double Take) when I saw him, just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

The man-horse chuckled when he saw us. "I take it these are the demigods you called about, Annabeth."

The blonde girl nodded. "Yes, they are."

The man-horse-whatever smiled kindly. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, children. I am Chiron, activities director and trainer of heroes."

"Holy lint rollers!" Olive exclaimed. Holy lint rollers? What a weird kid. Not even Dez would say something like that. "You're the actual Chiron! The dude who trained Hercules!"

Chiron nodded. "Yes, I trained Hercules, along with many other heroes, both significant and easily forgotten. I have been at this camp now for as long as it has been around, granted immortality by Lord Zeus himself to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher of heroes. I keep this immortality as long as I am still needed here as a teacher. I have been called many things by the campers here. A teacher. A guide. A father figure. I hope I can be all three for each and every one of you."

Annabeth cleared her throat. "The tour guides, Chiron?"

"Ah, yes. I have your tour guides waiting for you already."

"Wait." Emma said. "What about Percy and Annabeth? Can't they give us a tour?"

"They will be helping with the touring needs, yes. But individual tours are required here, since there is much to be explained and many questions to be answered. I have decided that Percy will take Luke Ross, and Annabeth will take Emma Ross. As for the rest of you, you will be given other experienced campers for your guides. Austin, you will be going with Daryl Anderson. Drake Notch has been assigned to Ally, Richard Freedy to Trish..."

I felt a flash of jealousy as this Drake Notch kid stepped off of the porch to greet Ally. He had jet black hair that was dyed blue at the tips, bright blue eyes, and muscles that would have made Dwayne Johnson jealous. He wasn't by any means unattractive. One look at Ally told me she thought the same thing. Had she really given up on me already? I felt even angrier than I had before. I clenched my hands into fists as Daryl and I walked away.

While Drake had been about average height and muscular, Daryl was tall and lean. He had brown hair that barely touched his shoulders, a fledgling beard, dark green eyes, and a thick scar across his arm. He was wearing a tight-fitting black v-neck, shorts, and Nike sneakers. A necklace with a few beads on it hung around his neck.

"Coming up here first are the cabins." He said. His voice was deep and rich. "There is one cabin for each of the gods. These first two are the largest because they belong to Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of Olympus. Each cabin is designed with the role of the specific god in mind. For example, the Ares cabin down there is painted red and has a boar over the door because those two things are often associated most closely with Ares."

My jealousy over Drake was making it hard for me to pay attention. "Do we get to choose our cabin?"

"No. Your cabin is assigned to you based on your godly parent. Until you are claimed, you'll be staying in the Hermes cabin, which is that wooden one over there. Hermes is the god of travel, which is why his cabin holds the pledge to house any demigod who has yet to discover their godly parent."

As we continued walking past the cabins, I noticed some were still under construction. "Who are those cabins for?"

"Those cabins specifically are for the newest additions to our list of honored gods, Aristaeus, Attis, Chloris, Comus, and Enyo."

I stared at him, totally confused. "What?"

"Oh, you're one of _those._ Allow me to enlighten you. Aristaeus is the god of bee-keeping, cheese-making, herding, olive-growing, and hunting. Attis is the god of vegetation. Chloris is the goddess of flowers. Comus is the god of revelry, merrymaking, and festivity. Enyo is the god of destructive war."

"Oh." I said, still not really understanding why an entire goddess was reserved for flowers.

We moved on from the cabins and onto the rest of the camp. The sight of the basketball courts excited me. I had always loved basketball. It ranked third on my list of favorite things to do, after eating pancakes and watching Bill Nye the Science Guy. Wait, did I just admit to that?

Turned out there were a lot more things in the camp than what I saw on top of that hill- which, by the way, is called Half-Blood Hill. Dozens of hiking trails wound through the entire camp. A track and field stadium was nestled deep in the woods. A working forge and an armory sat side by side near the Hephaestus cabin. A soccer field had been set up behind the cabin loop. A camp store sat in one of the lowest parts of the valley, obscured from view on Half-Blood Hill by the hill that the Big House sat on.

We ended the tour back at the Big House. My jealousy spiked again when I saw Ally and Drake sitting together in chairs on the porch. They looked awfully comfortable for two people who had just met. I walked up to Ally and took her hand, asserting my place as her boyfriend. Drake looked up a me, a hint of surprise lighting his eyes. I scowled at him. What did this guy think? That I was too weak or cowardly to be Ally's boyfriend?

At that moment, Chyna and her tour guide walked up onto the porch.

"Alright." Chiron said as soon as he saw her. "Now that we are all here, we can-"

He was interrupted by a flash. We all turned. An illusion of a hunting rifle had appeared slung over Ravi's shoulder.

Immediately, Chiron and the older campers fell to their knees. We followed suit, assuming that it was the proper thing to do. Ravi started to sink to his knees too, but was interrupted by Chiron.

"All hail Ravi Ross, son of Aristaeus, lord of bee-keeping, cheese-making, herding, olive-growing, and hunting."

I looked up sharply. So _that _was what a claiming was like?

Ravi himself was near speechless for a few moments. "My father- he is-"

Chiron smiled, rising back up to his regular position. The rest of us followed suit. "Yes, your father is Aristaeus. This is a very special claiming not just for you, Ravi, but for all of us. You are the first child of Aristaeus to ever set foot in this camp."

I looked at Chiron. "If this camp didn't have any of Aristaeus' kids in it, then why were you building a cabin for him?"

"Last year, following the end of the Second Olympian War, one of our heroes made the Olympians promise to honor all of the gods, even the most minor ones, by giving them thrones on Olympus. We, as the children of the gods and the trainers of these children, must adhere to that promise ourselves by giving each of the gods a cabin." Chiron explained.

Olive blinked. "But not all of the gods have cabins. I didn't see any cabins for Aetna and Amphictyonis, for example."

"I know I'm going to probably regret asking this." Chyna said. "But who are Aetna and Amphictyonis?"

Olive opened her mouth to answer, but Chiron saved us from having to hear any of her interesting factoids. "Aetna is the goddess of the volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily, a mountain of great importance in Greek culture. Amphictyonis is the goddess of wine and friendship between nations."

"And a certain rival of mine."

We all turned. A pudgy middle-aged man sat in a chair nearby, a can of Diet Coke in his hand. He had a thick black beard, hair so black it looked purple, and blue, bloodshot eyes. He was wearing a tiger-striped shirt and purple running shoes. In a way, he reminded me of Dez, if Dez had grown up in a trailer park, drank a lot, and was fifty years older.

"Mr. D." Chiron said with little enthusiasm.

"Mr D." Olive repeated. "As in... Dionysus?"

The man grunted. "That'd be me. Dionysus, god of wine. Dionysus, god of partying. Dionysus, director of Camp Half-Blood."

Next to me, Emma laughed. "They let someone with _your _fashion sense and clear drinking habits run this camp?"

Dionysus looked at her. In a matter of seconds, he had gone from sullen and non-threatening to powerful and terrifying. When I looked into his eyes, I saw a sudden fiery hatred that hadn't been there before. "You might benefit from the reminder that I am a god. An Olympian, for that matter. Speak to me in that manner again, and you will never wash the taste of dirt from your mouth."

Emma's eyes had grown wide with a sudden fear. "Y-yes, sir. Sorry."

Dionysus' nostrils flared, but he said nothing further. Instead, he sank back into his chair, his eyes losing their focus once more.

"I think it may be best for us to continue our conversation inside." Chiron said carefully.

No one objected to the suggestion. I thanked my lucky stars that the veteran campers stayed outside. I made sure to give Drake a death glare as I walked inside.

Chiron halted in front of the fireplace, which was burning despite it being the beginning of June. "As I was saying, we are working hard to finish construction for all of the Greek gods. However, it is a slow and tiring process nonetheless. Construction on the five current cabins-in-progress is scheduled for completion by the end of June. We will be laying down the blueprints for the next five gods after that. Ravi, until construction on the Aristaeus cabin completes, you will have to take up residence with your friends here in the Hermes cabin. I am sure you won't mind."

"Of course not, Mr. Chiron sir." Ravi said. He was pretty formal for a thirteen year old kid.

Chiron turned to face us. "Now, for the all important question- do any of _you _have any questions?"

We all launched into a flurry of asking, so Chiron had to stomp his hoof to silence us. "One at a time, please!"

I managed to get my questions out first. "When will the rest of us get claimed? And how will it happen? Are all claimings the same?"

Chiron shook his head. "No, not all claimings are the same. Each god has their own distinct way of claiming their children. For example, Poseidon claims his children with the illusion of a holographic trident over the head of the specified demigod. Aphrodite gives her child a temporary makeover when claiming them. Iris creates the illusion of a rainbow arching over the head of her newly-claimed child. And those are just naming a few. As for when you will get claimed, that is up to your godly parent. The same hero who made the Olympians promise to respect the lesser gods also made them promise to claim all of their children by the time they reached 13 years of age. Normally, if a demigod arrives at camp after their 13th birthday, they are claimed within a week after arrival. You saw for yourselves how quickly Ravi was claimed."

I nodded slowly, disappointed that Chiron couldn't give me a definite answer as to when my godly parent would claim me. Still, he _had _said that I would get claimed within a week. So I guess it wasn't so bad.

"Is it really all that safe to have kids fighting each other like this?" Chyna asked. "I mean, heh, it seems fun and all, but I'd rather not get an arrow stuck in my knee, if ya know what I mean."

Chiron smiled wistfully. "The dangers you will face at this camp are nothing to the dangers you would face if you were to venture out into the real world, Chyna. Now that you know you are a demigod, monsters are more attracted to you. You will encounter more. Powerful beasts who you would never have a chance of defeating without training. Other heroes, too. Rogue demigods who strayed from camp on the belief that they were better off alone. Gods who hold a particular grudge against you."

"But wouldn't it be safer to, I don't know, have us fight against dummies or something?"

"The real experience is the greatest teacher for any young hero, Miss Parks."

She still didn't look convinced. "I see."

All of a sudden, the door swung open, slamming into the wall. We all turned around to face a boy about our age. He had a mop of black hair on his head, green eyes that sparked with worry, and pale skin. A thick scar sliced through his right eyebrow and over his eye. He was wearing a blue tee shirt and jeans, and held a sword in his hand. "Girl - outside!" He panted, leaning on the doorway for support.

We all looked at one another. Who was this kid? I figured he was a camper, but he looked more like a gangster who someone had ripped off of the street. The only dead giveaway was the sword in his hand. Then again, Chiron _did _say that some demigods left camp and went rogue.

"We need... help." The boy said. "She's... badly injured."

We continued to exchange uncertain glances with each other as Chiron disappeared into another room. Then, Chyna's head snapped up like she'd just had an epiphany. She stared at the boy with a mix of shock and excitement.

"Fletcher?"

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><p>Aaaaand another chapter done! I figured some of you who are reading this for the A.N.T. Farm characters would want Fletcher in this story, so here he is. More coming soon!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright, so here's Chapter 6. Like always, I don't own any of these shows or anything else you recognize blah blah blah.**

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><p><strong>Chyna POV<strong>

I couldn't believe it. Fletcher was _here__? _I was completely speechless as Olive ran forward and wrapped him in a hug, practically crying his name into his shoulder. Surprisingly, Fletcher pushed her away, snapping that now was not the time to talk. That left me even more shocked. Fletcher had never pushed anyone away like that, let alone the ex-girlfriend he was still in love with.

At that moment, Chiron came back out of the room he had disappeared into, holding a medical bag. He ducked out of the Big House, and we sprinted after him. We headed for Half-Blood Hill, which was where a bunch of demigods were crowded around something. I caught up with Olive pretty easily, since what she had in brains she lacked for in athletic ability. Trust me, I knew- I couldn't help but think of the time she tried for the varsity track team and got lapped twice by a boy on crutches.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

She looked away from me, clearly hiding tears. "I don't know why he would push me away."

"Well, he did say this girl was badly hurt. You know Fletcher's always been concerned about other people."

"Yeah." She murmured. "I guess."

When we reached Half-Blood Hill, the gathered demigods parted to let Chiron through. We all peered around him, since looking over him wasn't really an option. He crouched next to the girl and started checking her for wounds. He found one pretty quickly- a gash on her knee. He opened his medical bag and took out some kind of disinfectant spray. He sprayed a decent amount on the girl's wound, and she cried out in pain. Chiron ignored her and pulled something else out of his bag- a bottle of liquid that looked like apple juice. He opened it, a straw extending from inside. He held it up to the girl's lips. "Drink." He ordered.

Weakly, the girl drank some of the juice. She recoiled at the taste. "It-"

Chiron silenced her immediately. "You must be quiet. You are very weak right now."

The girl nodded. Chiron put the juice back in his bag and faced the demigods nearest to him- one of which happened to be Drake. If I didn't have a boyfriend back in California, I would have considered going after this cutie.

_Wait a minute... Oh my god, I completely forgot about Hudson! _I felt a flash of horror as I realized this. _Oh no, no, no, no! I promised him I would come back for him! What am I going to do?_

Suddenly, someone shook my shoulder hard. I whipped around, realizing that it was Fletcher. "We're leaving." He said. He was starting to walk away when I called him back.

"Fletcher stop."

He stopped, turning back around to face me. "What?" He asked, his tone coming out rather harsh for him.

"Why did you have to push Olive away like that? You can't even imagine how badly she's missed you."

"I don't love her anymore." He said plainly. "I've decided to focus on my career."

"_What _career? I mean, you're not at the museum anymore."

"My hero career." He said. "Look, Chyna, I'd love to catch up with you, but not now, okay?" He sprinted away before I could say anything. Wait a minute- Fletcher _sprinted? _Since when did Fletcher _sprint? _I ran after him, completely confused. I hadn't been this baffled since the first time Gibson pulled a corn cob out of his hair.

We all followed Chiron and the two boys as they carried the girl off to a place I hadn't noticed before, situated in the fields right before the south end of the Big House. A big red cross on the roof told me that this place was an infirmary of sorts.

Chiron and the boys were let through by the guards with no problem, but the rest of us were stopped.

Fletcher stepped forward. "Let me through!" He said.

One of the guards stiffened. "Oh, sorry, Fletcher sir. We didn't realize it was-"

"Yeah, yeah. Can I go through?"

They stepped aside to let him through. He stopped in the doorway. "That girl needs to come in, too." He said, pointing directly at me.

"What about me?" Olive asked, her voice full of despair. I felt a flash of sympathy for her.

Fletcher ignored her, staring expectantly at me. I glanced at Olive apologetically and followed him inside.

The girl had been laid down on one of the cots. The infirmary was emptier than I had expected- only two other campers were here with the girl. One had a broken leg, while half of the other kid's face was bandaged up.

Fletcher and I took the place of the two boys as they left. Chiron stood still at the foot of her cot, a grim expression on his face.

"Chiron?" Fletcher asked. "Do you mind leaving Chyna and I alone for a bit? We have some things to discuss."

I expected Chiron to object, but the centaur nodded. "Let me know if the girl needs anything." He trotted out.

Fletcher motioned for me to sit down on one of the stools. He sat down on the chest at the foot of the cot. "I guess I should start from the beginning."

"That would be helpful."

"A couple of days after Zoltan and his students at Z-Tech left to go back to California, I went out for a walk. I ended up near 5th Avenue, where I was getting some fried food from this stand on the side of the street when something weird happened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what I thought to be a Sphinx walking down the street. It was so weird I had to go after it when I saw it go down an alley. So I did. And, believe it or not, the thing was real. And it attacked me."

He paused for a moment. "I would have died in that alley if a passerby hadn't heard the commotion and come to save me. Turns out he was a demigod from this camp. Dylan Anderson. He told me that I was someone special, and that I needed to come with him. Being the gullible person that I was at the time, I followed him. Thankfully, he wasn't some kind of child kidnapper. He brought me to this camp, where I was claimed pretty quickly by Poseidon. After realizing that my father was one of the most important gods out there, I knew that I had to take a more mature, serious look on life. So I forced myself to change. I broke all ties with my friends at Z-Tech. I deleted you guys from my phone, on Skype, on Facebook, and anything else I had you guys listed on. I called my mom and my stepfather and told them I wouldn't be coming home for a while and that I would be too busy with my "art" to call. I contacted Zoltan and told him to pull my name from the registry, since there was no way I was ever going back to Z-Tech."

"Percy was one of the most important people in my life at that time. He was the first sibling I'd ever had, since I'd been raised to believe that I was an only child. Now, since Poseidon is one of the Big Three gods, he has very few demigod children. That makes Percy the only true sibling I have here. He taught me how to fight with a sword and a trident, how to control the water powers I inherited from my father, and gave me advice for living in this world. It's because of him that I'm the kind of respected warrior I am today. I got assigned a quest after about three weeks of training. About half a dozen members of my father's Cyclops army had gone rogue, and I was tasked with finding them and bringing them back to Poseidon. I managed to succeed for the most part, losing one of the Cyclops on the journey." His face darkened, as if he were remembering a terrible memory.

"The end of my quest was the first time I got to meet Poseidon. He was different than I expected. I was expecting a harsh, unforgiving person. Instead, I got a laid-back, merciful, kind-hearted father. He gave me my first true weapon- a trident that he himself made in the forges. He apologized for the problems being his son would cause me in my life, and advised me to keep being true to myself. When I went back to Camp Half-Blood, I followed up on his advice by continuing my descent into a darker personality. This coming July will be the first anniversary of my arrival at Camp Half-Blood."

I stared at him. "So from what you're saying." I said. "You left us, left your girlfriend, just so you could be viewed as a normal hero instead of an oddball?"

"Yeah." He said.

"But you've always been the odd one out, Fletcher! And I mean that in the best way possible, but why change? Your father said to be true to yourself, so why are you changing?"

"He said to continue being true to myself. Which meant that he approved of my changing personalities, and thought that I should keep doing that. This is right, Chyna. I can feel it."

"And what about Olive? You broke her heart when you pushed her away like that!"

"Olive needs to move on. There are plenty of guys here at camp. She'll find someone. I need to stay single. My future is here, as the greatest hero I can be."

I stood up, shaking my head in disbelief. "You aren't Fletcher. I don't know you." I started walking away.

"Chyna, wait." Fletcher grabbed me. I shook him off. "Don't. I thought I could trust you to stay loyal to your friends- no, your _family_ - above all else. I guess I was wrong."

Fletcher's expression suddenly got very cold. "I would be careful what you accuse me of, Chyna."

"You have nothing over me." I said, putting on my meanest face. Truth was, this new Fletcher scared me. What had happened to him to make him this cold?

We were still staring each other down when the girl on the cot stirred. "Where... am I?" She asked weakly.

Both Fletcher and I looked at her. The girl was beginning to stir, flexing the leg she had hurt.

"How do you feel?" Fletcher asked, walking over to her.

"Better." She commented. "I- wait a minute." She peered closer. "I... I know you."

Fletcher crossed his arms. "That wouldn't be the first time I've heard that today." He glanced at me. I looked away.

The girl was still studying him. Suddenly, she gasped. "Fletcher? Oh my god, what happened to you?"

I realized something then. That voice... it sounded familiar. I looked the girl up and down, trying to figure out who this was. She had blonde hair that was blown all over the place and streaked with dirt. Behind the hair that was covering her face, I could see that she had hazel eyes and was wearing a decent amount of makeup. She was wearing a tee shirt that said "I Love British Boys" on it and neon blue jeans. Only one person I knew looked like that.

"Lexi?"

She jerked her head around to look at me. "Chyna? What are _you _doing here?"

"I'm a demigod. Like you."

She looked me up and down, an expression of disgust on her face. "_What _are you wearing? Those jeans do _not _go with that shirt."

I looked myself over. "You know what, they really don't. Maybe-" I cut myself off. "Ugh. Stop getting me off track. What happened to you?"

"I met this butthead at the convention." Lexi said, gesturing to Fletcher. "His hair was so long I couldn't even tell who it was. He told me his name was Frank Quintle. We got attacked by something when we were on that hill."

"Half-Blood Hill." Fletcher corrected her. "And that thing was a hellhound. Chiron isn't going to be happy about it being so close to the camp."

Lexi looked at him. "Chiron? Who's Chiron?"

Fletcher sighed. "Maybe you should go, Chyna. It's going to take me a long time to explain everything to Lexi. She can't have a proper tour until she's recovered from being attacked."

I nodded. "Alright. See you guys later. Have a nice rest, Lexi."

She scowled at me. I smiled at that and left the infirmary.

Outside, everyone else had gone. The guards said nothing to me as I headed back up to the Big House. This was all becoming too much for me. First I find out I'm the child of a god. Then I find out my best friend has actually been living at this camp for the past year and has suddenly gotten as cold as my dad's homemade meatloaf. And finally, I find out that my rival is a demigod too, and is here to spend the rest of my time here making my public life horrible.

When I got up to the Big House, my bag was still waiting where I had left it. I grabbed it and made my way down to the cabins. When I got to the Hermes cabin, I saw that an argument had broken out.

"What the hell does Hades ever do? All he does all day is sit on his goddamn throne and preach to the dead! Zeus is the balance between peace and war on Olympus!"

"So you say. But don't you remember last summer? An entire war broke out because Zeus didn't care enough to order his subjects to claim their children and pay attention to him!"

"So you think Hades would do a better job at that?"

"Yes! He claimed his children, Nico and Bianca way back before they were ever thrown into the Lotus Casino! He would order all of the lesser gods to claim every single one of their children."

"Hades tried to trap Percy Jackson in an airtight cage for the rest of his life! He would have killed him and the Titan Army would have won the war!"

"Zeus wanted to kill Percy just for being Poseidon's son!"

"Zeus saw the courage in Percy and offered him a place among the gods! Hades never did that!"

"Both of you, shut up!"

The arguing ceased as a tall man stalked over to the two fighting campers. He was one of the tallest men I'd ever seen, well over six feet. He had a thick beard, broad shoulders, and grey eyes. He was wearing a freshly-pressed pinstripe suit. He looked to be in his mid-thirties.

"If the two of you need to settle your differences, go to the damn arena! I will not tolerate fighting outside of classes!" The man shouted.

Both campers cast their gazes downward. "Yes, sir." The mumbled in near unison.

"Good." The man said. "Now get out of here before I get Mr. D on your case."

The kids jogged away. Shaking his head, the man walked away, muttering to himself.

Wondering why exactly the kids had been arguing about Zeus and Hades, I went into the Hermes cabin.

The inside was about as unimpressive as the outside. Cots and sleeping bags were everywhere, a sign of how many kids had yet to be claimed. Extra bunks were pushed against the wall to accommodate for the large number of actual Hermes children. The inside walls weren't even painted, and the windows were stained and scratched.

The only open spot in the entire cabin was underneath a desk, so that's where I set up my sleeping bag. I unpacked my stuff and spread it around my living space. My iPod, clothes, blankets, beauty products, and my songbook. I felt a bit homesick as I thought of all of the beautiful instruments I'd left behind at Z-Tech.

After I was done unpacking, I just sat back down on my sleeping bag, unsure of where to go. I didn't have any classes to go to, and I had no idea where my friends had gone off to.

Eventually, I began to grow tired, so I curled up on my sleeping bag and started to fall asleep. Just when I was beginning to slip into dreamland, someone stomped into the cabin, waking me up.

Opening one eye, I watched as a muscular girl about my age ripped off her rain jacket and flung off her flip-flops. She was grumbling about something under her breath. Her brown hair was tied back with a ribbon, and her face was streaked with dirt and blood. She was wearing ripped jeans and a black AC/DC tee shirt. When she turned around, she saw me.

"You must be one of those new kids." She guessed. Her voice was rough and hoarse.

I stood up, extending my hand. "Yeah. Hey, I'm Chyna."

She ignored my extended hand. "Yeah? Well, Chyna, I'd advise you to stay in your own sleeping place and avoid me. I don't like new people. Or any people, for that matter."

"Oh." I said. "Well, I'll stick to my space, then." I slowly started backing away, unsure of whether or not this girl was going to try and snap my neck. She probably could, with those muscles of her's.

She didn't move any further, just kept her brown eyes locked on me like a hawk. Feeling very uncomfortable now, I sat back down on my sleeping bag. She stared at me for a moment longer before whirling around and leaving.

I pretty much just sat around after that. I listened to some music on my iPod, worked some more on the song I was currently writing, and eventually ended up playing a lot of Don't Touch the Spikes on my iPod.

I was just about to beat my high score when a conch horn blew in the distance. Figuring that meant something, I got up and walked out of the cabin. I wondered how hard it would be to learn to play the conch horn. Probably not that hard, seeing as I was a musical prodigy and all.

I saw that a lot of people were heading in a certain direction, so I joined them. I tapped one camper on the shoulder and asked, "Where are we goin'?"

He looked at me. "Dinner."

"Oh." I wondered what kind of food they served at a Greek demigod training camp. I had a feeling it wasn't your average American meal.

The crowd ended up at the open-air pavilion. The pavilion sat on a cliff that overlooked Long Island Sound. It really was a beautiful view.

The man in the suit from before was directing the new campers on where to sit. When I got up to the front of the line, he directed me to the unclaimed table. He told me to get what I wanted for supper from the buffet line now, since once I sat down I wouldn't be permitted to get back up again for more until dessert. I got in the buffet line and grabbed a plate.

Tons of different Mediterranean foods greeted me. I was excited, mainly because all I'd ever eaten was American food. Fortunately, each container of food was marked with a description. I chose something called Apáki for my main dish, which was basically lean pork marinated in vinegar and smoked with aromatic herbs and spices. I went all out with the sides. I ended up choosing Garides Saganaki for my first side, which was shrimp dipped in spicy tomato sauce and feta cheese. Corn bread became my second side, and some fried vegetables for my third.

I went and sat down at the table marked "UNCLAIMED". My friends were already there, along with the other unclaimed demigods. I expected Ravi to be there, mainly because he was staying with the Hermes cabin for now, but he wasn't. I looked around for him, and noticed him sitting alone at a table marked "ARISTAEUS". He looked lonely. I wanted to go invite him to sit with us, but I had a feeling that would be frowned upon. I sat down on the edge of the bench, next to Dez.

All of a sudden, a harsh wind kicked up. Seemingly out of nowhere, we were presented with silverware sets, small plates, and goblets. Fancy.

I looked up as one of the older unclaimed campers said something. He was looking straight at his goblet. "Cherry Coke."

When we all gave him a funny look, he smiled and said,

"The goblets are enchanted. Just tell them what you want to drink, and they will fill up with what you want."

Skeptical, I looked at my goblet. "Water." I said, hoping the kid wasn't playing a nasty trick on the new people. To my surprise, the goblet filled itself with water.

I smiled. "Orange Crush."

The drink fizzed and turned orange.

"Aw man." Austin said. "This is the best! Think of all of the possibilities!" He was staring intently at his cup. "Green Coke."

His goblet filled with green soda.

Austin's smile got even wider. "Sweet." He was about to take a sip when the older unclaimed campers grabbed their small plates and stood up. "What's going on now?" Austin asked, setting his goblet down.

The same kid who had explained the goblet stuff to us answered this question, too. "We all sacrifice a part of our food to the gods. They like the smell."

Finding it a bit strange, I grabbed my own small plate and, after scraping some of my shrimp onto it, went to join the line. When I got near the front, I heard that the campers ahead of me were choosing a specific god to sacrifice their portion to. The girl in front of me chose Apollo. I couldn't hear her request.

When I got up to the front, I had no clue who to sacrifice my food to. I wasn't great in Greek mythology. I only knew of a few gods- Zeus, Hades, Dionysus, the like. I barely even knew what they represented. However, I did know that Zeus was the King of the gods, so I chose him.

"Zeus." I said, scraping my sacrifice into the flames. "Uh, if you know who my dad is, I'd kinda appreciate it if you could tell him or her to give me a sign or somethin'." I walked back to my table.

Once all of the demigods were seated, Mr. D stood up from his table. "Attention, delinquents, attention." His tone was extremely monotone. "We welcome about two dozen new campers to our camp today, we hope they enjoy themselves and learn a lot, blah blah blah." He sat down.

Chiron came forward next. I noticed that he was sitting in a wheelchair. I wondered what kind of enchantment allowed him to cram his entire horse half into that little thing.

"Because we have so many new campers joining us for the first time today, I will brief the rules." He began. "Everyone is to begin getting ready for bed at 10:00 P.M. Lights Out by 11:00 P.M. Fighting is prohibited outside of classes and events. Breakfast is at 8:00 every morning, followed by cabin inspection. You are expected to be on time for all classes. Weekly schedules change on a bi-monthly basis."

Once he was done briefing the rules, he raised his own goblet and cried, "To the gods!"

"To the gods!" Everyone echoed.

We all enjoyed a massive feast after that. I hadn't realized it, but the only thing I'd eaten all day was a pack of crackers my tour guide had offered me. I was starving.

After dinner, I went up to the buffet, which was now stocked with dessert foods. I chose some Turkish Delight and various cookies.

After dinner, my friends and I all went our separate ways again. I went down to the armory on the advice of the boy who had been telling us about goblets and sacrifices before, who I had dubbed "Dinner-Boy".

The armory was not what I was expecting. It was a simple shed behind the Athena cabin. It was staffed by a single guard, who let me pass once I had introduced myself. Inside, the walls were lined with various weapons. Swords, spears, clubs, even shotguns. I had no clue what to pick.

Dinner-Boy had advised me to pick a weapon that felt comfortable in my hands yet was strong enough to dispatch a monster easily. He suggested I try a small sword or a knife, so that's what I did. Neither really felt right in my hands. The thought of hurting anything, even if it was out for my blood, was so foreign to me it felt odd to be looking for a weapon. Sure, my dad was a cop, but let's be honest. What did he really do besides show off his Cleanest Cop Car Awards and collect things for the Evidence Locker?

I went for a baton, but it made me think of cops, which in turn made me homesick. So that was another no. I tried a mace next, but that felt too clumsy and heavy. Getting frustrated now, I tried one last weapon- a spear.

To my surprise, this felt perfect. It was about six feet long and lightweight. I swung it around a bit, and it felt great. Deciding on this, I left the armory and returned to the Hermes cabin.

I was just getting my new weapon set up when the conch horn blew again. This time, everyone was heading for the center of the cabin formation. I saw that they were crowded around a blazing fire over twenty feet high. The fire burned a brilliant shade of gold. Everyone was cheering and laughing.

I found a spot in between Dylan Anderson and Dinner-Boy. I spotted Fletcher on the opposite side of the fire, laughing with his arm slung casually over Percy's shoulder. I wondered how he could go from moody and dark to happy and careless like that.

After a little while, someone stood up and called for everyone's attention. It took him a few tries to get everyone's attention. "Alright, alright everybody. We're going to be doing a sing-a-long, so anyone who's interested is welcome to join." He started singing the lyrics, and the others started joining in.

I didn't recognize the song at all. From what I could make out, it was about an old grandmother getting dressed for war. Weird. Not able to catch on to the lyrics, I stayed quiet. I noticed that Fletcher was singing loudly at the top of his lungs. His voice wasn't bad at all, surprisingly.

They were just finishing the grandmother song when something happened. A flash of light sparked from somewhere in the crowd, and everyone fell silent.

The crowd parted to reveal the source of the spark. A little girl who couldn't have been older than eight or nine stood in the center of the formed circle, a holographic golden bow hovering over her red curls. The image disappeared after a few moments.

Chiron's voice came from somewhere in the crowd as we all began to fall to our knees. "All hail-"

He was interrupted by three more consecutive flashes. The crowd parted again, revealing the other three newly-claimed demigods. One was a daughter of Hephaestus, the second a son of Hypno, and the third was none other than Trish.

"Well, then." Chiron said. "It seems we have multiple claimings tonight. All hail Frieda Rosemary, daughter of Apollo, god of archery and the sun. Kate Lugundy, daughter of Hephaestus, lord of blacksmiths and fire. James Neiterm, son of Hypnos, god of sleep. Trish De la Rosa, daughter of Enyo, god of destructive war."

We all bowed in honor of these newly claimed demigods. I felt a prick of jealousy. Why couldn't it have been me getting claimed instead of Trish?

_Please, mom or dad. If you're listening, I need you to claim me. Please. _

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><p><strong>So that was one of the longest chapters I've ever written, if not the longest. A part of my effort to increase my average chapter word count from 2,500 - 3,000 to 4,500 - 5,500. I was going to make Trish a daughter of Ares originally, but her personality reminded me of what I would picture a daughter of Enyo being like, so that's why her father was Enyo and not Ares. Also, what do you guys think of the new Fletcher? Things will start getting a lot more serious starting in Chapter 7, so keep watch for it! See you guys at the next chapter! <strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**So like I said at the end of Chapter 6, things are going to start getting more serious from this chapter on. Just a warning, if you guys are expecting the Disney characters to stay happy and carefree through the entire story, you're in for a surprise. If you're going to blow up about it, I'd recommend stopping this story now. Otherwise, please enjoy Chapter 7. **

* * *

><p><strong>Luke POV<strong>

I sat down on the bench, exhausted. My muscles ached from spending the past forty-five minutes as the swordfighting instructor's personal practice dummy. Blood trickled from a cut across my forehead. I couldn't even tell you how many bruises I was going to wake up with tomorrow.

It had been three weeks since we'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, and during that time, everyone had worked hard to find the things they were best at. Trish was good at unarmed combat and wrestling. Dez was extremely artistic, and had been working on an amazing statue of Lord Zeus. Ally was able to catch on to Ancient Greek super fast, and was now tutoring the delinquents in the subject. Austin, being as musically talented as he was, had spent the past three weeks giving music lessons to a bunch of kids. As for his demigod side, turns out he was real good at archery. Chyna had gotten a spot as one of Camp Half-Blood's Saturday night entertainers, and sang a song or two every week at the beach. On top of that, she'd gained popularity as one of the fastest campers. Olive's memory served as extremely helpful for her, and she was excelling in demonology. My brother, Ravi, was one of the best trackers in camp. And as for my sister, Emma, turns out she was really good at sewing. She fixed up campers' clothes all the time- and was even working on her own "modern" Greek toga in Arts and Crafts.

And then there was me.

People had been telling me lately that I'd been acting weird. Maybe that was true. I hadn't flirted with a girl in almost a week now, which had to be a record for me. I avoided most of my friends, and barely said anything at meals. But I had a reason. A very good reason. I was an outcast.

I was the only one of my friends who hadn't been claimed yet. Along with that, I was good at nothing in particular. My attempt at making a statue of Hercules ended up looking more like a blobfish. When I tried to shoot a bow, I always missed the target by embarrassing distances. The swordfighting instructor only had me be his personal practice dummy because I was the weakest and most disposable of his students. Even after three weeks of Ancient Greek, I still struggled with getting past two or three lines of The Odyssey.

Was my godly parent disappointed in me? Was that why I hadn't been claimed? When I'd asked Chiron about it, he'd said that it was a god's choice to claim their child or not, and that sometimes they just forgot about some of their children. That made me feel about as good as a squashed bug.

It didn't help that my siblings had grown away from me now that they were both claimed. Ravi dedicated all of his free time to living up to his father's role as the god of hunting and bee-keeping. Emma chose to honor her mother, Aphrodite, by spending her free time critiquing people's fashion choices and doing their hair and makeup. At least not much had changed there.

The only person who I still felt at all close to was Ally. She was the sympathetic one of our friend group, the only person to notice that something was wrong with me and question me about it. I was grateful for the effort, but my depression and frustration usually just led to me pushing her away.

On top of my issues with my friends and my continuing status as an unclaimed demigod, the entire camp was having issues. Things were bad on Olympus. Zeus and Hades were at each other's throats, and everyone was expecting a war. The camp was starting to divide itself between those who supported Zeus, those who supported Hades, and those who wished to remain neutral. So far, the Athena, Ares, Apollo, and Hebe cabins had sided with Zeus, the Hecate, Nemesis, and Hades cabins had sided with Hades, and the Aphrodite, Demeter, and Hypnos cabins had declared neutrality.

That was a problem for us.

Austin was a son of Apollo, Ally a daughter of Hecate, and Olive a daughter of Hebe. That meant that Austin and Olive were supposed to pledge loyalty to Zeus, and Ally pledge loyalty to Hades. A girl named Melissa Birthridge had recently been claimed as a daughter of Enyo, and was pressuring Trish to side with Zeus. Ravi was the sole representative of the Aristaeus cabin, and was leaning toward neutrality. Emma, being a daughter of Aphrodite, was also supposed to be neutral, but had been vocal about her wish to side with Zeus instead of staying neutral. Not good.

And then, once again, I was left on the sidelines. Because I was unclaimed, I had to pick whatever side the Hermes cabin picked, which looked like it would end up being Zeus. If I got claimed, I might have to switch my side or become neutral altogether.

"Hey, Ross!" Drake's voice cut through my thoughts. "Get your ass out here for Conclusion!"

Conclusion was this segment at the end of each swordfighting class that involved us demonstrating one thing we had learned today or realized we needed to improve upon. I stood up and went over to the line of campers demonstrating their things.

I didn't really know what to do. I'd been too busy trying to defend myself from Drake's constant attempts at hitting me to learn anything. So instead, I demonstrated one of the moves I had messed up on today, hoping it would be good enough to get me out of here.

To my relief, Drake announced that each one of us had performed well today, and that we were dismissed. I checked my schedule, seeing that I had Greek Mythology next. At least I couldn't get hurt there. Usually.

When I got up to the little clearing where Greek Mythology was taught, most of the campers were already there. I spotted Fletcher Quimby, a son of Poseidon, sitting near me, so I went and sat near him. He was sort of cold and merciless, which made him the perfect person for me to be around in my current state of depression.

"Word's gotten out that things are even worse on Olympus." Fletcher said gravelly.

I looked at him, shocked. "What? How?"

He shook his head. "Last night Hades threatened to go to war with Zeus if the problem isn't resolved soon. More cabins are picking their sides. Hephaestus cabin chose Hades. That Chloris kid did too. Iris, Phobos, and Deimos chose Zeus. Hermes has decided to stay neutral."

I felt a flash of relief as I heard that my current cabin was staying out of this mess. "What about Poseidon's cabin?"

His face darkened. "Percy and I aren't sure. Poseidon has never been on good terms with Zeus, but Percy isn't fond of Hades either. He doesn't want to stay neutral, though, since his girlfriend's cabin is siding with Zeus." He shook his head. "We need to make a decision soon, though."

I was prevented from responding by the arrival of Wally Rhee, our instructor. He summoned a chair of vines and sat in it. He was quiet for a few minutes before beginning.

"Today we'll be discussing the Twelve Labors of Hercules. As you learned in yesterday's lesson, Hera despised Hercules for being the product of one of Zeus's many affairs. She drove Hercules to insanity, and caused him to kill his six sons and wife. After recovering his sanity, he felt immense guilt over his actions and requested purification from King Thespius. He still felt immense guilt following the purification, so he visited the oracle of Delphi. The oracle told him to serve King Eurystheus for twelve years, and in return, he would be granted immortality. Hercules did as asked, and performed ten labors for Eurystheus. However, Eurystheus refused to accept two of them, because Hercules accepted pay for one of them and received help for the other. He assigned Hercules two more labors, thus creating the Twelve Labors of Hercules. The-"

He was interrupted by a massive _ka-boom! _We all jumped to our feet and started running toward the source of the explosion.

A massive fire was burning near the cabins. People were screaming, black smoke filled the sky, and embers flew everywhere. Nymphs and naiads were rapidly trying to put out the fire, but to no avail.

"Stay back!" Chiron screamed, galloping toward the fire. He scooped up a young boy who had fallen and carried him away. The fire was starting to spread, heading toward the cabins.

Fletcher ran toward the fire and was joined by Percy. They both drew their swords and crossed them, bowing their heads. I watched as the ground began to shake. I turned just as a massive wave rose up high above the treetops. I yelped and tried to run, but my sore body wouldn't move fast enough. The wave came crashing down over me. Thankfully, it subsided quickly.

I sat up, coughing and spluttering. Someone screamed my name, and Emma was there before I knew it. She dragged me away as another wave rose up, this one even bigger than the one from before.

Emma dragged me over to where some demigods and satyrs were huddled under a tree. One of the demigods came forward and started checking me over. I hit him away.

"Woah, man." He said. "Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." I snapped. "I'm not bleeding, nothing's broken, and I'm not choking. I'm fine."

The boy hesitated. "Alright, fine. But say something if anything starts to hurt, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Hey." Emma said, crouching next to me. "What was that, Luke? You're never like that!"

"Well, I am now."

She stared at me. "What happened to you? You used to be all carefree and flirtatious, and now you're just... bleh."

"Life happens." I looked away from her. She didn't say anything further.

The ground shook again. I thought that Percy and Fletcher were summoning another wave, so I didn't bother to look up.

Suddenly, someone screamed. My head snapped up just in time to see a massive, tank-sized hellhound dragging a little girl away by the leg. She screamed and swung at it. Percy lunged for the hound, his sword raised, but was intercepted by a flash of shadow. He fell to the ground, pinned under an equally sized hellhound.

And then they all came.

Dozens of hellhounds descended upon Camp Half-Blood at once. They were all of varying sizes. Some were just as big as the first two, while others were no bigger than an average dog.

The group around me split up. Satyrs already armed with clubs and other wooden weapons charged the hellhounds, while the other satyrs retreated into the forest. The boy from before and another who looked a lot like him grabbed their spears and attacked. Emma retreated toward the cabins, and I followed. I didn't have any weapon of my own, since my weapon of choice wasn't a sword.

I flew into the Hermes cabin, nearly knocking over one of the Stoll brothers as I did so. I grabbed my mace from my sleeping bag and ran back out again.

Outside, it was chaos. People were engaging the hounds, limping away bleeding, and lying motionless scattered on the grass. I raised my mace and slammed it into the head of the nearest hellhound. It fell back, golden-black blood dripping from the gash in it's head. I hit it again, and a second time. The hellhound tried to recover, but I hit it again before it could. It fell back on the lawn and faded into nothingness.

The girl I'd saved thanked me, but I didn't hear her through the haze that had formed over me. I ran toward the next hellhound and smashed it, distracting it enough to allow the boy who was fighting it to stab it in the side. It howled and faded.

I heard someone scream my name from behind me, but I was too slow to turn around. A massive black mass slammed into me. Together, we went tumbling down further into the valley, crashing into a stream far below the cabins. The hellhound tumbled off of me as we collided with a rock on the way down. I cried out in pain as a jagged piece of the rock slashed my arm.

I managed to recover from the fall before the hellhound. Unfortunately, I had dropped my mace when the monster tackled me. I faced it now as it rose, snarling. It advanced on me slowly, lips drawn back to reveal sharp, bloody teeth.

Then it lunged.

I rolled to the side and managed to dodge it. However, it recovered too quickly for me, and had me pinned down in the stream before I knew it. It sank it's thorn-sharp teeth into my shoulder and bit down, hard. I heard the sickening crunch of bone as pain rushed throughout my whole body. Struggling against the black monster's weight, I lifted my good arm and elbowed it in the face, as hard as I could. The thing snarled and slackened it's weight on me long enough to rise up and throw it off.

Pain shot through my shoulder again, but I managed to stay standing. As the hound jumped for me, I punched it, sending it tumbling further downstream. I went after it, adrenaline replacing the numbing pain I had felt before. The black creature was recovering at the bottom of a small incline. I splashed through the ankle-deep water, screaming a fierce battle cry. I kicked it in the side, knocking it over. Standing right on top of it, I started beating the crap out of it. I couldn't tell you how many times I hit it, because all I saw then was red.

Eventually, someone pulled me off of the hound. I heard the dog give a low howl, and then it disappeared.

I looked up as my mind cleared, seeing that Fletcher had saved me. His sword glimmered in his hand. He grabbed my good shoulder and hauled me to my feet. "Come on!" He called.

We sprinted back up toward the cabins. As we ran, the adrenaline began to subside. The pain returned, sharper than ever. I felt like puking, but I figured Fletcher wouldn't be too happy if I vomited all over his "Keep Calm and Art On" shirt. So I held it in.

Things were no better back at the cabins. New monsters were appearing to replace the ones we were killing off. Gryphons, Laistrygonian giants, _dracanae_, and others. I found my mace lying next to a kid moaning and clutching his leg, which was practically torn to shreds. I grabbed him with my good arm and lifted him up over my good shoulder, carrying him toward where the Apollo kids were gathered to treat injuries.

When I got there, I spotted Austin arguing with Will Solace, the counselor for the Apollo cabin.

"But I want to fight!" He whined. "Do you really want someone who got a 79 on their Biology Regents treating the wounded?"

"You don't need Biology." Will told him. "You don't even have your bow."

"But I have my sword!" He drew his sword to prove his point. "See?"

Will sighed. "We need you here. If anything, keep the patients calm while we're doing triage. Okay?"

He sheathed his sword. "Will you make me pancakes if I do it?"

Will nodded. "Yes, yes, I'll make you pancakes. Now go!" As Austin went off to where the injured campers were being assessed, Will saw me and the injured boy. He rushed over.

"Bad leg wound." I reported, setting him down. He screamed as I moved his leg a bit. I apologized, but he didn't seem to hear me. Before Will could say anything about my own injuries, I sprinted back out into battle.

I found Chyna pinned underneath a Laistrygonian giant's foot. Darting behind it, I slammed my mace against the giant's back. It yelled out in a mixture of anger and pain and disintegrated, turning into a puff of yellow dust and fading away.

"Thanks." Chyna panted. I nodded and dashed off again.

My adrenaline returned as I went from monster to monster, dispatching ones who were injuring or close to killing any of the campers. I was a blur of motion, swinging my mace and yelling out insults to the monsters. Sometimes I'd be joined by one of my friends, and we'd work together to dispatch a large or particularly difficult monster. First it was Emma, slashing at a giant's feet while I came up from behind and smacked it in the behind with my mace. Then it was Ally, casting a spell to freeze a hellhound in place so I could easily dispatch it. Finally it was Ravi, using his whip to drag a Gryphon to the ground by the wing.

And then I was by myself again, smacking things and kicking things and screaming bloody murder.

And then it happened.

A massive bolt of dark lightning struck the ground, right in the middle of the fighting. It sent everyone near it - including me - flying. I slammed against a tree, screaming in pain as a bolt of pain shot through my injured shoulder.

I looked at the place where the bolt had struck, seeing that a large circle of black ash had formed around it. A man stood in the middle of it all.

He was wearing a cloak the color of red, with the images of tortured souls embedded within it. His skin was pale, his eyes dark, and his black hair shoulder-length and oiled. His eyes searched the camp, his face emotionless.

They came to rest on me.

When they did, I felt a cold tingle go up my spine. I shivered, suddenly feeling very small compared to this man. I felt relieved when his eyes moved from me to Chiron, who was galloping up to meet him.

"Lord Hades." Chiron said. "What brings you here?"

So this was the Lord of the Underworld? I don't know why, but his appearance was not what I had been expecting.

Hades looked at Chiron with no emotion. "Your camp seems to be taking quite the interest in the affair between myself and Zeus."

Chiron shifted his weight. "I make it my business to stay out of family quarrels."

Hades raised his eyebrows. "Is that what this all seems to be to you? I expected a wiser response out of you, Chiron."

Chiron looked uncertain.

Hades continued on. "I am not here to criticize, but to warn you all." He let his gaze sweep around the circle of gathered campers. "Let this attack be a warning to you all. Those of you who have sided with Zeus suffered most today. This was merely a demonstration, to show you what I am capable of doing to those who deceive me and deny me." His eyes suddenly glowed menacingly. "I hope none of you think you can cross me and win. If it is a war you want, I will give you a war you will never forget. This is just the beginning." He glanced briefly at Chiron.

And then his gaze returned to me.

"I have one more reason I came here." He said. "I wish to speak with that boy, Luke Ross."

Several gasps of astonishment. Chiron stiffened.

"Why?" He asked, a hint of suspicion in his tone.

Hades smiled. "Because." He said. "Luke Ross is my son."

Then, he waved his hand, and the world went black.

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><p>When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a comfy bed in a dark room. A single torch burned green fire beside the door. The walls were made of black stone, and there were no windows.<p>

I sat bolt upright, then cried out in pain, my shoulder not liking the sudden movement. When I went to look at it, I saw that it had been bandaged. The cut on my arm had also been bandaged.

I was lying underneath a blanket the color of Hades' cloak. Images of Underworld-y stuff were embroidered into the fabric- skulls, fire, monsters. Even my pillowcase was crimson.

Someone had left some things for me on the chest at the foot of the bed. Careful not to make any sudden movements that might upset my shoulder, I got out of the bed. I felt a little nauseous when I stood up, but felt better after a little while.

I saw that my mace was there, along with some new clothes, my sneakers, and a note. I read the note first.

_Dear Luke,_

_See me when it is most convenient for you. We have much to discuss._

_- Lord Hades_

I set the note down. So Hades had really been there. And if this note was from him, that meant I must be in the Underworld. No room in Camp Half-Blood looked like this.

That also meant that Hades was my father. Why else would he have brought me here?

I felt even more like an outcast now. I had watched Hades' other son, Nico di Angelo, quite a lot. He was a depressed and isolated individual. I realized with a start that he was a lot like I had been lately.

I changed out of my blood-stained clothes and into the new ones I had been given. Unsurprisingly, they were black. Black shirt, black sweatpants, black socks. My blue and white sneakers stood out quite noticeably.

I picked up my mace with my good arm and went outside.

I ended up in a long hallway. To the right were more rooms, and eventually, a dead end. To the left were more rooms, and eventually another hallway to the right. I went down to the left.

After navigating what seemed like an endless expansion of hallways, I ended up outside.

The building I had come out of was in a fairly desolate part of the Underworld. Off in the distance, I could see a wheat field of sorts. Without even having been here before, I knew it was the Fields of Asphodel. On a hill way off to the left I saw a massive castle. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was Hades' castle.

I started toward it. When I finally got there, two skeletal guards were blocking the entrance. They took one look at me and stepped aside. I didn't know being Hades' son was that obvious.

Another pair of skeletal guards stood guard at the main door. One of them pointed toward my mace and shook his head. It took me a minute to realize that he was saying no weapons allowed. I set my mace down against the wall and went inside.

The inside was huge. And I mean _huge_. The walls soared high above my head, decorated with images of various heroic death scenes. Black staircases rose up from either side, leading to different parts of the castle. Crimson pillars supported the arching ceiling. They too were decorated with heroic death scenes.

At the very back of this main room sat Hades himself. He sat upon a throne of bones, wearing the same cloak from before. In his right hand he held a staff, and a sword in the other. The sword had a black, nightmarish blade that made me shiver in fear.

As I slowly approached Hades, I felt the power in the air get stronger. By the time I was kneeling at the foot of his throne, the power radiating from the Lord of the Underworld was almost enough to knock me over.

"Rise, my boy." Hades' voice was rich and smooth.

I stood up, forcing myself to look at him despite my fear.

He smiled. "You fear me, as do most mortals and heroes. I am your father, and that means you should have no reason to fear me."

I swallowed hard. "Your monsters almost killed me today."

"And I have treated your wounds as a form of sincere apology. I do care for you, Luke. I have helped you more than you realized. I led Christina and Morgan Ross to you at that adoption center because, as ignorant and self-absorbed as they may be, I knew they would raise you well. The death of your mother grieved me." He bowed his head. "But I gave her the ancient rites she deserved. She does not suffer here, Luke."

I didn't really know what to say, so I just nodded.

Hades looked back at me. "I am sorry I did not claim you sooner, my boy. But I was waiting for the right time. Those who oppose me at Camp Half-Blood do not realize the mistake they are making. I hope that my warning today will convince some of them that they are in the wrong. You will support your father, I am assuming?"

I wanted to admit that I wasn't sure. But something about Hades' voice was powerful- making me want to fall to my knees and submit to him. "Yes, sir."

He nodded. "Good. I hope you are able to live up to my expectations, Luke. Nico has been... a bit of a disappointment. His sister should have lived instead of him. But I digress. I have you now." He leaned forward. "I have great hopes for you, Luke. You will be a great hero. But you must understand something. Children of Hades are never welcome. Your fellow campers may lie to you and tell you that they honor you just as much as every other hero, but they do not." His voice was spiteful. "You may have seen it in Nico, yes? Well, the same thing will happen to you unless you do something to change it. So, I have a proposal for you."

I blinked. "A proposal, sir?"

"Yes. I will spare your camp from any further unprovoked attacks if you agree to stay here with me and work to meet your goals."

I hesitated. "My lord, how will I benefit from training here over Camp Half-Blood?"

I expected him to get mad, but he didn't. "You will be able to hone your powers as a son of Hades here. You will learn what being a child of the Underworld truly means. And when the war comes, you will be ready."

I thought about it for a few minutes. Staying here would mean that I would be accepted. I would get to learn from my father. I wouldn't have to worry about being the outcast.

But I still felt an obligation to protect my family. Emma and Ravi, and Nico now, too. I could tell Hades cared nothing for Nico, all because he hadn't lived up to his expectations. I didn't want to fail Hades, but I also didn't want to abandon my friends and family.

"I can't do that." I said. "I'm sorry, father, but I have to keep my friends and family safe. I'll find my own path, I promise."

Hades' nostrils flared. I could tell he was struggling to contain his anger. "Fine. But don't come running to me when your camp erupts in flames and it's members are sentenced to eternal damnation!"

I flinched. "I'm sorry, father, please don't be mad! I would stay here if I could, I swear, but I have to protect what matters most to me. If there's a war, I need to keep them from getting hurt. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to them because I wasn't there to protect them."

Hades exhaled loudly as he looked away from me. He was silent for a while. At last, he said,

"I can sense that your heart is pure, Luke. Just don't get yourself killed. I always hate it when my own children pass through the gates."

I swallowed. "I won't fail you, father. I promise."

He studied me a moment before handing me something. It was a necklace of sorts, a black string with a small black stone attached to it.

"Wear that, and I will be able to communicate with you at any point in time, no matter what the circumstances."

I wondered why a god needed something like this to be able to communicate with their son, but I didn't question it. I hung it around my neck. "Thank you, father."

He nodded. "You are welcome here, Luke. Never think otherwise."

He waved his hand, and the world went black once more.

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><p><strong>And that concludes Chapter 7! I know Luke seems like he's really OOC in this chapter, but he's actually just undergoing character development. I find it easier to write for official characters when I do something to change their personality a bit. That way, I can focus on the plot rather than worrying about whether or not what I'm writing matches their canonical personality. More soon!<strong>


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